MODERN - FANTASY.

The book that I choose was Batman by Ralph Cosentino . It was illustrated by the author . Ralph 

Cosentino an Argentinian who grew up in New York , is the son of two flamenco dancers. 

As a young boy, he often coerced his sister into giving up her piggy-bank money so he could buy 

super-hero and moster comics. Ralph is the author and Illustrator of the story of Honk-honk and 

Swella -Bow-Wow and The Marvelous Misadventures of Fun boy. He also designs his own toys for 

his company. U.F.O. Toys.  He lives with his wife Lisa and their three children  and two dogs.

The book Batman - the Story of the Dark knight - has 32 pages of actions , with Batman and their 

enemies,  the joker , the Penguin, Catwoman, two- faced . In this book there will always be a 

criminal to stop, a victim to save , a monster to fight and a crook to catch in Gotham city. In these 

firsts pages the author wrote about  Batman ,  he did a background of Bruce  life - Batman Life.  

After the death of the Bruce parents , Bruce suffered a lot , however , he be prepared in science , 

math ,politics  he learned yoga , self defense and boxing . One night he saw a bat on his window and 

he had a idea to become in Batman. 

One of the elements of the curriculum design for social education elementary is Self Knowledge . 

The modern fantasy book Batman  showed a tragedy (The death of Bruce's parents) and as Bruce 

was able to face that pain into a positive feelings and actions. To help the weak people and eliminate 

the villains. In the same way the teacher can show the appearance  of Resiliency, stronger , go ahead 

the ability to change the negative into positive with the power of decision.  

  

Folklore

            The book I chose: Anansi the Spider, A tale from the Ashanti. Adapted and illustrated by Gerald McDermott. This is an African story from Ghana, Africa. This story was passed on through the tribe, Ashanti for years and years. The book describes Anansi as, “Anansi is a folk-hero to the Ashanti. This funny fellow is a rogue, a wise and loveable trickster. He is a shrewd and cunning figure who triumphs over larger foes. An animal with human qualities, Anansi is a mischief maker. He tumbles into many troubles” (prologue).

            Quality Criteria for Folklore: The story has rhythms throughout the book with colourful art describing his adventures. The cultural integrity I feel is incorporated into the story because of the geometric figures all around and the art is typical of African art. The story discusses several universal themes – in regards of the Six Elements of Social Justice.

            I picked Element Two: Respect for Others. The story shows how the sons rescued their father from trouble. However, they lacked respect when they argued over who should deserve the prize of the Beautiful Globe of White Light. This displays what kind of respect we should have for one other.

            I will use this book in the classroom, at the very beginning of school year and probably re-use it again throughout the year to discuss respect. Respect for their peers and see how effective the attitude will turn out. I want to show the comparisons between this and American folklore that has been passed for generations.

Folklore: "A Story, A Story"

                The folklore book I chose is called A Story, A Story written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley. This is an African story, retold, about the origin of “Spider Stories” in African folklore. The Sky God had all of the children’s stories and nobody could tell any stories because the Sky God had them all. The “spider man”, Ananse, spun a web up to the Sky God and asked him if he can have his stories. The Sky God says if he gets a list of things for him then he can have the stories. Ananse gets all of the items and then all of the stories becomes his. From now on, all of the African stories are called Spider Stories.
              Following the folklore evaluation, this story meets all of the criteria. This story seems to accurately retell the story of Spider Stories in African folklore. There are some phrases that are repeated for rhythm and for meaning. The beginning of the book explains that the phrases or words are repeated in African culture to show emphasis and so the book follows this format. The beautiful illustrations add another layer to the text and supports the story.
              This story has the element of self love and respect. Ananse follows the Sky God’s requests and does not disobey him, this shows respect for him. In return, the Sky God honor’s the deal and rewards Ananse with the stories. This shows mutual respect for each other because neither of them tried to cheat the other one. Also, this story spreads awareness about African folklore tales and the origin of Spider Stories. Many African stories are called Spider Stories and this tells the story of how it all began.
             This book would be great to use in the classroom to show students folklore tales from another culture. Students can compare this story to a classic folklore story from America and see how they compare. They can look at the main characters and plot, as well as the format and see if this African tale and American tales follow a similar format/rhythm or not. Students can also practice writing and drawing their own folklore stories that they have heard growing up following this format.

Folklore book

The Folklore book  that I choose is the Tortoise and The Hare by Jerry Pinkney. Pinkney is one of the 

most heralded children's book illustrators of all time. He has the rare distinction of being the recipient of 

five Caldecott.


The story is described in a farm near the forest where a hare asks a tortoise competing in a race, 

the farm animals began to report on the race of the hare and the tortoise and gradually gathered close 

around competitors. the book is without letters , the author just do emphasis in one phrase  "Slow and 

steady wins the race."  gradually  in all book. The kind of traditional literature is a fable. 



The social justice portion of the book is remarkable in self love and knowledge. When you're sure what 

you want to achieve, no matter what other people think about  you. The most important  is what you 

think about yourself to achieve your dreams. If you're short, tall, fat, skinny, slow or very fast does not 

matter, the important is to thing , that  with your natural qualities you can do much if your are  decide. 

Whit his philosophy of the life I can start the main idea of the tortoise and the hare folklore book .

Folklore: Golem

Golem is written and illustrated by David Wisniewski. It is a retelling of a traditional Jewish story, set in Prague in the 16th century. Jewish people in Prague at that time were forced to live in walled ghettos, and daily attacked by Christians. The chief rabbi of Prague prays for help for his people and dreams of the word GOLEM written on a background of "fire and ruin". With help, the rabbi creates the golem to defend the Jewish people.

Based on the criteria for evaluating folklore, I can tentatively say that this is a quality picture book. I am not Jewish nor am I an expert on oral stories. However, the language does seem to follow oral patterns: sentences are short to middle-length and the structure flows from one event to the next in a logical, easy to follow way; rhetorical questions are used; there is one main narrator with other voices only occasionally coming in to speak, which I think is helpful with oral stories, because it reduces the need for saying who's speaking and lowers risk of confusion. I do not know if the story itself maintains the cultural integrity of early retellings and I could not find out if the author himself is Jewish or not. However, there is a lengthy note at the end of the book that discusses cabalistic beliefs in Judaism and the history of Jewish persecution. More cross-reference and consultation with Jewish people is needed to confirm the quality of the text.

The story deals with the universal theme of protecting your people and the desire for safety in the face of danger, something all groups of people can connect and identify with, on large or small scale.

The illustrations are captivating cut paper scenes, with strong colors and contrasts. They repeat the information in the text while adding to it, in terms of emotion, details, and setting. Again, I cannot confirm if the clothing and occasional Hebrew script is accurate for Judaism.

Because this book is a retelling of Jewish folklore, it fits with Social Justice Elements 1 and 2: self-love and knowledge, and respect for others. Jewish students will be able to see and learn their cultural story, while non-Jewish students will do the same, while also learning more about the persecution Jewish people have faced throughout time.

This book would be great for an interdisciplinary social studies unit, focusing on the oppression of peoples throughout history. Most students only learn about Jewish people in the context of the Holocaust. While that is undoubtedly important, this book will help expand students' knowledge about Judaism and Jewish people.

Folklore: "Many Moons"

Poetry book "This Day in June" by Gayle E. Pitman Illustrated by Kristyna Litten