Author/Illustrator: Sienna Cherson Siegel/Mark Siegel
Plot Summary: A re-telling of the author's childhood as an aspiring ballerina. With much detail of the rigors of this art form, this is a departure from typical graphic novels which usually written for boys.
Comments: A graphic novel for girls that is also part biography, part informational.
Extensions:
1. Students will use various forms to create their own autobiography or something in particular in their life - ie. an event. It could be a graphic "novel" format, pictures, written text.
2. Use audio or video to have students convey something autobiographical. It could be something they did or experienced - from learning to ride a bike to visiting another place.
3. Provide students with a story template from Grammerman. Compile the sheets in to a book for a class comic book. Or, the teacher could form small groups with each group using the same characters. Students could write in sequence to create their own graphic novel that tells a story.
Themes/keywords: ballerinas, ballet, cartoons and comics, graphic novels
Age/Reading Level: 3 - 6; ATOS - 3.8; Follett - 3.8; Lexile - 610
Standards:
ELA4R2(through eighth grade) The student consistently reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) each year. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and electronic material. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.
ELA2R4 The student uses a variety of strategies to gain meaning from grade-level text.
ELA3R3 The student uses a variety of strategies to gain meaning from grade-level text.
Publisher's Info: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York. 2006
ISBN-13: 978-0-689-86747-7
ISBN-10: 0-689-86747-6
Awards/Review Sources:
Wilson's Children 10/01/06 | School Library Journal starred 11/01/06 |
| Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/07 | Book Links (A.L.A.) 05/01/08 |
| Booklist starred 09/01/06 | Horn Book starred 04/01/07 |
| Publishers Weekly starred 10/02/06 | Kirkus Review starred 09/01/06 |
Genre/Dewey: 741.5
Websites:
The author and/or book did not have a specific website but their are many sites about this author/illustrator and husband/wife team.
Notes for Booktalk:
Vocabulary:
Comments