I Get So Hungry by Bebe Moore Campbell

This piece of literature is about a girl named Nikki who is overweight starting her first day of school. She is being called names by a certain boy in class and it is making her sad. From all of the ridicule and name calling it makes her very sad and when Nikki is sad she can’t stop eating. I chose this piece of literature because there are environmental factors of personal wellness. In this story Nikki’s mother will not buy her food that is healthy because that is not what they are used to. Her mother believes that they will always be overweight because that how their family is so there is no use of changing their habits. This is a view around the world that obesity can’t be changed. There are many options to becoming healthy and eating right and physical activity is the beginning to that. Nikki wants to start becoming healthy and begins to walk with her teacher before school. The teacher is Nikki’s role model because she is taking action in her own life. Nikki’s teacher is able to motivate Nikki to help her mother start becoming healthy. It is a piece of literature that students can look deeply into and understand Nikki’s feelings. Having a role model and being able to help someone else is a main reason for becoming healthy. Students should learn that it’s important to your personal health if the people around you are also eating healthy and being physically active. Another part of this piece of literature that is important is the name calling issue. There could be people in the class that do that to students, without the teacher knowing, and it’s important they also see the effects of name calling. Their words can hurt others and the students can talk about how they can eliminate name calling in the school.

The Monster Health Piece of Literature by Edward Miller

This is a non-fiction piece of literature is a guide to eating healthy. I chose this piece of literature because it takes eating healthy and breaks it down piece by piece. It begins explaining the food pyramid, which some students might even have an idea of the food pyramid or what it does. In this piece of literature it breaks down each part of the five food groups from the food pyramid. When describing each food group the authors give a description of where the food from the group mainly comes from, how much of the food in the particular group should someone eat, and examples in pictures and text of what types of food are part of the particular food group. There are also facts about each food group throughout the page. Breaking this down for students allows them to analyze their own eating patterns. What do they eat the most of? What do they need to eat more of? Do they eat too many fats? They will realize that all of these foods together make a healthy body. Another part of the piece of literature that even I examined closely was that they described how to read a food label. Some adults still do not know how to do that today. This is a great opportunity for kids to learn at a young age of how to count calories and selecting nutritious foods. Other topics that are discussed are information on what should we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, health risks when the students don’t eat healthy, being active, sleep, different types of moods that are experiences, and saying no to bad health influences like drugs and alcohol. What also is important in this piece of literature is the section where it explains how each student’s weight is different and students shouldn’t compare weights in the classroom. This piece of literature is a great opportunity for students to get full detail of eating healthy and what that all involves.

Strong Man by Meghan McCarthy

This is a biography of Charles Atlas who on the World’s Most Beautiful Man Contest and was crowned the World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man. I chose this piece of literature because he was not always proud of whom he was. He was picked on, bullied, and even beaten up because he was so small. Many students in my class can relate to his feelings and how he wanted to become a different, stronger person. He needed to work hard towards his goals and he couldn’t afford the weights like he saw on T.V. So he created his own routine and weights by using things he had in his house. This brings up the issue of physical activity and social class. What if some people can’t afford a membership to centers like the YMCA? What if some people live in an area where there is not a place for physical activity? What if some people have to work to help out the family? This brings up some questions for students to really think about. But it doesn’t just relate to physical activity but also eating right. If students or families can’t afford organic food or expensive whole wheat bread, what happens? This piece of literature brings the aspect of social class and how Charles Atlas pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and was able to fulfill his dreams with hard work.

I.Q. Gets Fit by Mary Ann Fraser

This piece of literature is a fictional story about a mouse that is the class pet in the classroom named I.Q. It is healthy month in the school and everyone, including I.Q. is going to work on their personal health. They will improve their health over four weeks and get a gold ribbon if they pass the test. I chose this piece of literature because it explains the steps of personal wellness. This piece of literature allows children to explore and learn along with I.Q. the different types of ways to be healthy, there is not just one way! They must eat a balanced diet, drink plenty of water, get lots of sleep and stay active (which involves warm-ups and stretching). It also shows the students that everyone can be healthy and improve their health with eating right, drinking water, getting the right amount of sleep and exercise. Without one of these their personal health starts to decline. Students learn in a gradual process that everything fits together and works together to make their body be healthy. I also chose this piece of literature because it allows discussion about the incentives of physical activity. Receiving a gold ribbon can be motivational for some people but for others who don’t receive this gold ribbon it might be detrimental. If the students who don’t receive the gold ribbon may feel discouraged this may lead to decreased physical activity and eating healthy. Incentives are okay at some point but most of all each person should achieve their own goals and improvement is the main goal.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

I absolutley loved this book. Most books/stories are told with full sentences and give descriptions of what is happening throughout the book. For example in a regular story the boy would explain what poem the teacher handed out and why they are reading the poem, etc. In the poem there isn't much description or detail of what happens, it just happens. There is more inferring and exploring on the readers part of the book. It's not very long and one line can be one word long but it goes along so well with the the boy.

At the beginning of the book I wondered why he was writing seperate poems about a blue mustang, how it couldn't slow down, his neighborhoond, and his dog. I figured this novel would have to be about a dog somehow beause that is what the title is but I never thought the many poems he wrote at the beginning would combine into a wonderful poem that explains his feelings for his dog and what happend to his dog, Sky. This was a very quick read but it kept me wanting more and wondering what was going to happen.

Oh, Brother by Nikki Grimes (Poetry Picture Book)

This was my favorite poetry picture book by Nikki Grimes that I read. I really enjoy this story because it is about a boy (Xavier) who's mom got re-married and he now has a step-brother (Chris) who he doesn't like. Like Nikki Grimes' other book (When Gorilla Goes Walking) each page is split up into different poems, with different headings/titles, but when you read the whole poem front to back you are able to understand what is going on in the story.

I believe this book can relate to many children and how their parents re-married and there are now new brothers and sisters. So many books are about the "typical" mom, dad, brother, sister, white picket fence family and that is not what every one's family looks like. There are so many different definitions of family and each one is unique that is why I love this book so much.

My favorite part of the book is when Chris is trying to write Xavier's name because he doesn't know how to spell it and Xavier comes up to Chris and says just write brother because that is what I am, your brother. You see Chris' efforts of trying to get Xavier to like him and be his friend and in the beginning Xavier ignores him. In the end Xavier realizes that Chris is just like him and just wants to have a family. They become friends and brothers who love being together.

When Gorilla Goes Walking by Nikki Grimes (Poetry Picture Book)

What is unique about this book and different than the rest of Nikki Grimes' poetry picture books is that on each page there is a separate poem. You can read the book from start to finish to get the whole story about Gorilla and the owner Cecilia but the reader can also look at each page separately and see the different types of poems. Each page has a separate heading and title for each poem that can separate each poem from one another.

I love the way Cecilia and Gorilla act together. It shows that many children and people have friends that are animals and they mean the world to them. They can comfort you when bad things happen like when Cecilia's best friend moved away and can also feel the pain with the animal when they go to the vet to get shots. It's a great book to read with children because they can relate so well with animals they have at their house. Their pet is part of the family just like Gorilla is apart of Cecilia's family. They have fun together and care about each other that is what true families and friends are all about.