Thursday, November 29, 2012

Read All About Denise Brunkus



Read All About Denise Brunkus!




You name it and Denise Brunkus has done it! She worked for a museum copying illuminated manuscripts, designed stickers, toys, and greeting cards. She has appeared in national magazines and has even airbrushed art on motorcycles! She has illustrated more than 60 books. Her most famous work is the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. Brunkus currently lives in Massachusetts.

            As a child, she practiced drawing by copying the comics out of the Sunday newspaper. As she got older, the world around her inspired her to draw more and more.  At seventeen, the local PTA asked her to illustrate a booklet for them, and they paid her! That was her first art job and the start of her career. The art director at Parents magazine asked Brunkus to do an illustration for the magazine after she saw her greeting card designs. For many years after that, she appeared regularly in an assortment of national magazines. A publishing house noticed her illustrations and gave her the opportunity to illustrate her first book. She has been illustrating children’s books ever since. Brunkus’ favorite part of being an illustrator is being able to settle into a particular world where she gets to spend time with some very interesting characters.


  
 
Creating a Style
All Her Own

            Making art has always been Brunkus’ favorite thing to do. As a young artist, she used crayons and paints to make pictures and cards. She also created dolls and puppets using sticks, Kleenex, and scraps of fabrics. Now days, Brunkus creates her illustrations using several types of medium. The most common are watercolor, color pencils, and pencil. Her illustrations in Junie B. Jones are black and white and the majority of her other works are in color. Her work has a style of its own, and you can typically pick her characters out of a crowd!


A Few
 ((of her many))
Good Books!

Swallow, Pamela Curtis. Groundhog Gets Say. Illustrated by Denise Brunkus. 2005. Scholastic Inc.
Groundhog is tired of being forgotten after Groundhog Day is over! Groundhog enlists his biggest fan and reporter to get the truth out about Groundhogs! Groundhog teaches the reporter how groundhogs dig their holes, what species they belong to, what they eat and much more! I love the illustrations in this book, these characters are full of personality, and the illustrations reflect that!

Isaacs, Anne. My Teacher for President. Illustrated by Denise Brunkus. 2004.
Scholastic Inc. 
A boy thinks that his teacher, Mrs. Robinson, would make the perfect president! To get the word out, he writes a letter to Channel 39 to let them know why she is the woman for the job! Mrs. Robinson loves white houses, goes to a lot of meetings, and thinks health care is important. She is a good listener and possesses many other qualities of a good president. His only request is that she does not leave until the end of the school year!




Park, Barbara. Junie B., First Grader (at last!). Illustrated by Denise Brunkus. 2001. Scholastic Inc.
It’s a brand new year for Junie B. Jones. Goodbye kindergarten, hello first grade! A new year means new everything, a new classroom, new teacher, and new children! Junie B. is not sure how she feels about all the change, and things seem to be getting worse. When everyone else is reading the words off the board, Junie B. can’t seem to do it. Could it be that Junie B. needs glasses? No one in the class will like her with glasses…or will they?


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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding



Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding
Written by Lenore Look
Illustrated by Yumi Heo
Atheneum Books, 2006
36 Pages
Multicultural (Chinese)

          Jenny is not happy that her favorite uncle is getting married because that means he will not be spending as much time with her! She definitely does not like his fiancé because the attention Jenny loses Stella gains! This book shares the traditions of a Chinese wedding. Jenny also shares traditions from one hundred to two hundred years ago which shows how things have changed since then!

          Heo uses oil, pencil and collage for her brightly colored illustrations. The bright illustrations make you feel ready to celebrate! Heo uses informal text placement in her illustrations. The book also features single and double page illustrations. The lines are very defined and crisp. 

          This would be a great book to compare American wedding customs to that of the Chinese. Students could write about what they liked about the Chinese customs and if they would want to change anything about American customs. Students could show their favorite American or Chinese wedding custom by creating art using pencil and collage to go along with this lesson. This book has not received any awards.

When Marian Sang



When Marian Sang
Written by Pam Munoz Ryan
Illustrated by Brian Selznick
Scholastic Inc., 2002
32 Pages
Nonfiction

          This is the story of Marian Anderson, a girl who had a voice like no other and a dream and determination to make the most out of her voice. When she was chosen for the People’s Chorus, she was the youngest member and had to stand in a chair. She dreamed of going to musical school which she finally was able to do at age eighteen, but her dream was crushed when they did not accept “colored” people. She did not give up and continued performing at churches and colleges. She got a chance for singing lessons with a very famous singer, but wanted a better opportunity so she left for France. She was a hit in Europe and performed all over Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. Everything was wonderful until she came home to the U.S. and prejudice still prevented her from singing. Finally she was able to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of 75,000 people. Sixteen years later, her dream came true; she was the first African American to sing with the Metropolitan Opera. 

          This is a beautifully illustrated book. The illustrations are much larger than the text and invited the reader in. You cannot miss the intricate details of this book. Selnick captures every little detail of Marian’s life. The book features formal and informal text placement, and the majority of the illustrations are double page.  He uses warm colors throughout the book. 

          This book would be a great book to discuss inequality and segregation in history. You could also use this book to teach students to never give up and always follow their dreams like Marian did. It could also be used to incorporate music into the curriculum because there are several songs throughout the book.This book is a Robert F. Sibert honor book.

January's Sparrows



January’s Sparrows
Written and Illustrated by Patricia Polacco
Philomel Books, 2009
92 Pages
Historical Fiction

          When January is beaten to death, Sadie and her family, the Crosswhites, must leave their plantation that they work on in Kentucky in fear of who will be beaten next. When they flee, Sadie must leave behind her most treasured item, her wooden sparrow that January carved for her. With the help of the Underground Railroad, Sadie and her family make it to freedom in Marshall, Michigan. They live in happiness until one day a package arrives at their door. To see what arrives and how it affects Sadie and her family, you will have to read this book. 

          Polacco uses pencil and marker to create her realistic and detailed illustrations. She uses color to depict the emotions of the characters in the book. The most impacting illustration is on page 59 when Sadie is flashes back to a baby being taken from its mom and girls chained waiting to be sold. The flash back is in black and white and you can see the raw emotion on the girls faces. The illustrations feature formal as well as informal text placement and the illustrations are double and single page. 

          This book would be a perfect choice when teaching about slavery and the Underground Railroad. This book would be appropriate for older elementary school students. To use this book, you would have to go over several vocabulary words before the students could fully understand the book. This book could also be used as an example of bravery. The Crosswhites were very brave to flee Kentucky for a chance at freedom. This book has not received any awards.