The Brainstorm Vol 34

Books that can be used in multiple classrooms.

Picture Book

The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett
This book is easy to overlook due to the non-flashy cover and title, but like many things in life, treasures can be found in the most unexpected places. In this wordless book, a little girl sees a bike in a shop window and decides that she wants it. Instead of begging for it, she develops a plan to earn it. She finds little jobs to do, and in the process makes a friend in an older neighbor lady. At long last the day arrives when the little girl has earned enough money to buy the bike, but she shows up at the store only to find the bike is gone. What she does with the money instead (buys her little brother a tricycle), and the unexpected surprise she receives later (the older neighbor lady gives her the bike), make this a very touching story about unselfish kindness, hard work, patience and perseverance, friendship that crosses generations, and great entrepreneurial money skills. The art is simple in color scheme and style, but there's lots going on in the background so readers will doubtless find new things on re-readings.

There are many talking points with this book. It can obviously be used when talking about money skills, but also all the other intangibles mentioned above. I can see a lively discussion with students if you asked them what they would have done with the hard-earned money if it were them and the bike they wanted was gone. The artwork is also notable for the neutral tones. Another interesting class discussion could be about the title and art style, and why the author may have chosen to go with the simple words and colors. And since it's a wordless book, students can also write out the story in their own words in English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Thai, or other languages.

Nonfiction Book

What if? Serious Scientific Questions to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
If you were to list things that students often say are boring, math, science, and nonfiction books would probably come up. But challenge students to read just a few pages of this, and I think they will soon agree that math and science can be quite fun and even humorous. And no one would ever accuse this book of being boring - slightly mad and scary possibly - but not boring. Randall Munroe is a former NASA scientist who fields strange questions, like 'What would happen if you threw a baseball almost at the speed of light?' or 'How dangerous would it be to have a periodic table with actual samples of the elements in your house?' He applies his super math and science knowledge to the question and comes up with some wacky (but scientifically and mathematically sound) illustrations and scenarios. If you need to liven up a math or science class, try reading one of the entries of this out loud. Did I mention that he also manages to break down complicated math/science topics really well for the lay person? Well, he does. So it could also potentially help kids understand a math or science class better. It will at least make the concepts more memorable! I personally often have to force myself to read nonfiction, but I devoured this in just two days and laughed all the way through it. (Granted, I do have a bit of nerd/mad scientist in me, so you can take this with that grain of salt.)
Note: Because many of the situations involve deadly or potentially deadly scenarios, I wouldn't use this below 5th grade (and the math/science would probably be a little over their heads anyway).

Fiction Book

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder
I've been trying to find more literature written by Asians to add to the Media Center this year. This is one of the books I came across in my hunt. Ogawa is a modern Japanese author who has just recently gained some attention for the English translations of her books. At just 180 pages, this promised to be a quick read so I decided to try it out. And I'm quite pleased I did. The story revolves around a young woman supporting herself and her 10 year old son by housekeeping. Her newest job is with a man who used to be a professor of mathematics at the university until he was in a car accident. Since the accident he is stuck in the 70s and his new memory only lasts 80 minutes at a time. He copes by covering his clothing with little notes to himself, but even so, every day the housekeeper and he meet for the first time in his mind. What could be a potentially trying assignment, turns into something wonderful for both the young woman and the old professor. The professor helps open the woman's eyes to the world of numbers and mathematics, something she thought she was too stupid to understand, and the lonely professor seems to enjoy her company and having a willing ear. When the professor finds out that she has a 10 year old son who is left alone in the afternoons and evenings while she cares for his house and makes his dinner, he quickly scribbles a note to himself on his clothing that she brings her son effectually trapping her into bringing him. He tells her the boy must never be alone again. And so this little boy with no father figure, gets adopted each day anew by the older professor who helps him with his homework and enthuses over baseball with him. This is a great pick if you want to encourage your students to experience some Asian literature or if you want to find a short read for a reluctant reader. It gives a culturally enlightening look at Japanese everyday life. And it's a beautiful, touching story that makes math come alive and also explores how people can be blessings to each other, even if they are seemingly broken.