Cynthia Chin-LeeCritiques

A is for the Americas covers somethings that are popular throughout Latin America. It goes through the alphabet starting from A all the way to Z. Each letter representing something different that is popular in Latin American culture. This is a book i would for sure recommend for kids who are trying to learn about other cultures or even more about their own culture. It would even help a younger audience with their ABCs. It was a great read for myself bc in some of the book i grew up drinking, eating, playing some of the things that they listed in the story.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I would use this book to teach a unit on historic women in a 4th-5th history grade classroom. It is an easy read and gives information on 26 different women who made history. Students can use this as a source to write biographies over historic women or use it for an independent reading assignment.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting and joyous to read about the impact a plethora of women have had on the world. Within this book, there were many people I knew about and many I had no clue about. So, because of that I gained a lot of knowledge by reading this alphabet book. I was pleased to see the author find a woman for each letter in the alphabet. Also, I really liked that there were quotes from each woman in the book.

The illustrations were amazing. I loved all of the bright colors the illustrator used. It captured the friendship and the excitement that both Nancy and Erica felt. This book presents the topic that people from different cultures can be friends. It also touches on the fact that it is important to be willing to learn about other people's cultures because you never know what you are missing out on. You might find something new that you enjoy.

This beautiful book takes readers through the letters of the alphabet, focusing on the history of the world. I love that the illustrations in this book are all so different, but very representative of the place in the world the are showing. I also really like how the text is separated on the page, focusing each text with the picture to go with it. I would love to read this book to a group of students, as it is teaching them about the world, a topic many kids do not find interesting, and will keep them engaged through the pictures. Awesome!

This short selection I read of Eleanor Roosevelt in a collection biography book included less details in some places as my other biography of Eleanor, but it also included more details in other areas. It does not go into much detail about her early life at home, such as her mean mother and loving father, but it includes much more about her life after marrying Franklin Roosevelt. I enjoyed learning about her career running an all-girl's school, her motherhood to five children, and her work with the Red Cross.

Cynthia Chin-Lee managed to write several biographies about twenty-six women all in one children's book.The book briefly speaks about each woman's life along with their achievements and struggles. What's neat about it is that she orders these women's biographies from A-Z, meaning that the first letter of each woman's first name corresponds to a specific letter in the alphabet.

This book is about 26 women who had made a difference in the world in alphabetical order. The most interesting to me out of them are Frida Kahlo and Patricia Schroeder. I like Frida Kahlo because she was strong and though she had health issues, she didn’t let that stop her, yet she pushed through. Frida was a painter and folklorist, she was well known for her great art that displayed her humor and imagination. While I liked Patricia Schroeder because though she had kids and was a wife, which did not stop her from being a congresswoman. She enjoyed law but didn’t think they would elected a woman to Congress, and when chose she took the house by surprise. Pat served 12 terms and congresswoman, and during those terms, she championed laws to benefit women and families. I enjoyed this book because it gave a view of many influential women in the world that I either never heard of or didn’t know how much of a difference they made.

Akira to Zoltan: Twenty-Six Men who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee and illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy, is a specialized nonfiction book highlighting twenty-sex men who changed the world.

The cover is colorful and inviting, featuring two large and lively illustrations of Akira Kurosawa, a filmmaker, and Zoltan Kodaly, a composer and music educator painted on two book ends. The title is written in large and colorful sapphire blue font with a royal purple subtitle. Next to each illustration is an icon indicating each man’s profession. A film reel for Akira Kurosawa and a phonograph for Zoltan Kodaly. The cover is rich and suggests that this book is written for a younger audience, and it will include world-changers from different nationalities, ethnicities, and professions.

The table of contents is arranged alphabetically, beginning with the first letter of the first name of each historical figure. What is interesting about this intentional decision is that most people alphabetize by the first letter in the last name. This subtle, yet deliberate difference could help young people remember both the first and last name of these world-changers, not just the last name. Additionally, next to each name, there is a job description of each person. For example, next to Octavio Paz, poet is included. Along with Walt Elias Disney, animator and filmmaker is added. Next to Ellison Shoji Onizuka, astronaut is listed. These minor descriptions could peek a child’s interest, drawing them to a chapter aligning with his or her interests.

Akira to Zoltan contains a selected bibliography spread including thirty sources listed alphabetically according to subject. This is encouraging because even though I may or may not have heard of Cynthia Chin-Lee as an author, it demonstrates that she has done her research on each of these men. Even though the research process is not included in the bibliography, the reader, if he or she so chooses, could begin researching more about these individuals by reading the sources listed.

In the Author’s Note at the end of the book, Chin-Lee does not describe her or her illustrator’s research process in depth, but she does include six paragraphs describing her motivation for writing the book. She intentionally highlights “a diverse group of contemporary men beyond celebrities, wealthy businessmen, and powerful heads of state” and she “particularly sought peacemakers” because those “are the individuals who really change the world” (32). Also, she intentionally discusses the content of this book and was hesitant, initially questioning if the world needed another book about men. After doing some research and reflection, she “found it a joy to celebrate men from many different fields, including arts, exploration, and science” (32).

As mentioned above, Chin-Lee intentionally chose to focus her book on influential men who have impacted all of our lives. Also, as mentioned above, she widens the scope of her book to include more than just celebrities and heads of state. She does not go into incredible depth in the three paragraphs allotted each individual per page; however, the information is arranged in such a way that the first paragraph is about the hero as a baby, the second as a student, and the third as a professional. The information and language used is age appropriate and provides enough detail and background knowledge for young readers to have a sense of what that person’s life is about. At the bottom of each page, a direct quote is given by each person, along with the year he was born and the year he died. These quotes give the reader a sense of what each person valued and could cause the reader to reflect and apply the wisdom to his or her life. Finally, each page is illustrated with an elaborate and colorful drawing of each man featuring mnemonic images to help remember why they are famous. For example, Mohandas Gandhi is pictured in white robe holding the country of India. Nelson Mandela's picture alludes to the fact that he helped end apartheid in South Africa, and Pele is featured doing a bicycle kick on the soccer pitch. Together, the quotes, illustrations, and content align beautifully on the page to create a wonderful experience for young readers.
Cynthia Chin-Lee’s style makes learning accessible for young people. As mentioned above, the content is thoughtfully and carefully organized from A-Z, and the information contained in each biography is formatted into three easy-to-read paragraphs. The language is accessible for young readers, She maintains a neutral tone, as she is relaying and recounting these men’s lives, not favoring one person over another.

Another thing that is worth noting about Akira to Zoltran is the multi-cultural element. This book is not white-washed. Not only does Cynthia Chin-Lee choose to discuss the topic of world-changer as being a attainable through many different professions, the men who are celebrated in this book are from different ethnicities, nationalities, and creeds, which communicates to the reader that being a difference-maker is not limited to a specific skin color or belief system. Asians, Indians, Native-Americans, Arabs, Africans, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasians are all represented.

Akira to Zoltan is a great read for middle-school and junior high audiences. It is well researched, richly illustrated, and inclusive. This would be a great book to have in a middle-school ELA class library.

Even though these two books, Akira to Zoltan: Twenty-six Men who Changed the World and Heroes for my Son: Ordinary People who Achieved the Extraordinary, both specialized nonfiction books that focus on similar topics, they have similar audiences but are written for different purposes. At first glance, Heroes for my Son is written for an older audience with the intention of inspiring greatness and passing on wisdom to the upcoming generation. The photographs are all in black and white, the text is small and the font is not noteworthy. Also, there seems to be a lot of wasted, whitespace on each page causing the young reader to lose interest quickly. However, the author does include a 53rd chapter where the reader can include his or her own hero and create a two page spread. This type of interactive component makes me think it is written for middle school students with the intent to honor 26 men who changed the world. Aikira to Zoltan is definitely written for a middle school audience. The pages are full of vivid colors and beautiful illustrations, each section is written in a multi-paragraph structure, and the font is bold and exciting. Chin-Lee’s book also contains more biographical information on each person as well as a thorough bibliography. Akira to Zoltan is more effective in engaging young readers.

A is for Asia is an alphabetic introduction to Asian culture. This book takes each letter of the alphabet an find a corresponding word from one of the many cultures and nations found on the continent. All of the words are accompanied by translations in the related language, for example, Holi, a holiday in India is translated below in Hindi. The illustrations are childlike and entertaining. While I enjoyed the backgrounds and depictions of the clothing, objects and animals, I feel the actual people drawn were caricatures and generalizations of Asian features.

This alphabet book features unusual figures from history and impressive illustrations. Somewhat of a cross between an alphabet book and a nonfiction offering for older readers, the book gives the names and a brief biography of each man it names. They are from the worlds of sports, music, art, politics, science, film, invention, and more. I appreciated hearing about figures I had not heard of before and seeing a less common illustration style.

Amelia to Zora is a powerful, inspiring biography in the form of an alphabet book, which can be useful for many different grade levels. Setting this book apart from other biographies, Amelia to Zora journeys through the lives of 26 women who have made a difference, with a page dedicated to each woman. The pages include an illustration, two or three paragraphs to tell her story, and a quote from each difference-maker. Some of the women include, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Oprah Winfrey, as well as women that many students might be unfamiliar with such as Quah Ah, Maya Lin, and Rachel Carson. I didn’t think the illustrations did the women justice, however, overall I am very impressed with this book.½

This story is about two young girls of different descents, learning about each others culture. Erica and Nancy were friends in school, but had never visited each others families or homes. Nancy invites Erica over to her house for a play date. At first, Erica is nervous about visiting a house that my be strange or different. Throughout her visit, Erica warms up to the new ideas and becomes very brave. Overall, this is a beautiful story. Children may be hesitant about trying or learning about new things, and this story shows them that it is okay to try. This is a wonderful story about culture and diversity and why we should learn about. I really love this story, it gave me chills at the end. I do plan on having this in my classroom library.

Y'know, this just isn't as valuable as I wanted it to be. In the past 20 years a lot of these wholesome traditions have become more obsolete. And why did the artwork have to emphasize how 'exotic' and 'other' the people and the contexts are? I mean, to a Chinese person, or a Korean person, they're normal, and we Americans are 'exotic.' Well, at least we were 20 years ago. With the spread of small-world influences like the internet, no national group of people is really all that 'other' any more. Look at the high number of goodreads members in Indonesia!

This was a great ABC book that goes through the alphabet naming and talking about different things for each letter that has to do with America. A talks about America, N for Niagara Falls, R for Rio Grande, Y for Yucatan, etc. Each letter talks about what each thing is and where it is or used in America. I think the pictures really helped show what each thing was and gave a clear understanding of what it is used for or the location. I did think this was a pretty long book and not sure if kids will stay interested for the whole thing in one sitting. Maybe the teacher can do a few letters each day for a social studies lesson and just learn about a few things at a time in order for the kids to pay attention and not lose interest in the book.

"A is for Asia" by Chin Lee is an alphabet book that has a word from Asian culture for every letter of the alphabet. The book starts with A being for Asia and goes to teach other important words and traditions such as H is for Holi, a holiday of "chills and thrills" in India. Q is for the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book and Z is for Zen, a peaceful way of living. This book would be perfect for introducing children to Asian culture in a classroom. I enjoyed the illustrations by Yumi Heo which were authentic to Asian culture and art.

(2nd) Lesson: How Do People Improve Their Communities?
20th Cent Women, civics 5th. Pat Schroeder CO 4th. Diverse as far as timeframe of when women lived, and diverse in culture of each woman. And diverse in how they impacted society in their own unique way. An inspiration to girls, especially our girls of color. This information can be used to lead into personal narratives/biography/autobiography

This alphabet book covers notable women in history from A to Z, who worked hard to achieve their goals and dreams despite hardships and adverse reactions along the way. It covers the gamut of cultural backgrounds and women with various interests and would make any young woman feel proud to come after a line of such diligent, hard working women with a vision.

I really liked this book for a few reasons. The two main characters in the book are so unique yet so similar, both representing and exploring very different cultures through friendship. The illustrations were done beautifully and were helpful in understanding the specific terminology being used to describe the Chinese-American culture. I also liked that the plot was simple and informative throughout it's progression. The central message of this book was that it can be really rewarding to learn about new cultures from your friends, and the book did a great job of presenting this.

26 amazing women, 26 amazing stories; this book serves as an excellent introduction to the lives of these famous women and could be used as a jumping point from which students could do further research on the individuals that most interest them. I appreciated that readers learn not only about the hardships and triumphs that inspired each woman, but also special anecdotes that reveal aspects of their personalities (i.e. Amelia Earhart’s construction of a makeshift roller coaster in her backyard when she was 7 years old).

Companion book to "Amelia to Zora." Informational, multicultural and well written. The art work is done in bold colors using a collage method along with ink and paint. The book represents many unsung social justice hero's from underrepresented segments of society. A great classroom resource book.

This book is great! While it is structured in the form of an alphabet book, it really falls more under the category of an illustrated informational book. The author, Cynthia Chin-Lee focuses on notable men in the history of the world, particularly those who are known in history as peace keepers. Each page is packed full of great information about each noteworthy person as well as a beautiful and unique picture. I think this book could have a lot of great uses in the classroom. It is clearly intended for a little bit older audience, but its uses as a biographical text is pretty awesome.

Truly great and unique!
From A to Z, this book informs and delights as a who-who's list of should be known global dignitaries. Sports, music, arts, thought, film and literature and represented as a common guide into history and achievement. The book can be used as an effective tool of learning across multiple subjects and is a welcome addition to any classroom curriculum. I do not know how the final were selected but the lessons and values that can be learned from each subject are universal to all.

Really informative, awesome artwork and I like how the style and concept changed depending on the person, that adds emphasis to them.

This was one of my favorite biography books. It can be used as an introduction to biographies as each one is short. It can spark a child's interest in one of the women. It is organized alphabetically and includes biographies of Amelia Earhart, Kristi Yamaguchi, Mother Theresa and twenty-three other who have done their part to change the world not only for women, but for everyone.