A Different Pond
Author: Bao Phi
Illustrator: Thi Bui
Grade Level: 3-5
Genre: Non-Fiction
Awards: Caldecott Medal
Summary: This tells the story of a young boy and his father. Every morning the young boy and his father go out fishing. When the boy asks his father why they fish every morning, his father tells him it is so he can provide dinner for their family. When they get home, his father leaves to work the first of his two jobs along with his mother. At the end of the book, the family comes together to eat the fish the boy and his father caught.
Evaluation: There is so much more to this book than the summary I wrote. This book is powerful. It tells of the struggle a family faced as a Vietnamese refugees. Even after working countless hours, the father and mother still lack the funds necessary to provide dinner for their family. This book shows the great lengths a father is willing to go to in order to provide for his family. I would love to use this book in my classroom because I think it is important to have students place themselves in someone else's shoes.
The age appropriateness is between third and fifth grade. There are some terms mentioned that might be unfamiliar to younger readers. Even if you were to define those terms to younger students, they still might not be able to grasp the full picture this book is illustrating.
I could use this book during the unit on world issues and how they are portrayed in literature. After I read this story, students could reflect on the world issue being discussed and the emotions evoked in them as the reader.
Summary: This tells the story of a young boy and his father. Every morning the young boy and his father go out fishing. When the boy asks his father why they fish every morning, his father tells him it is so he can provide dinner for their family. When they get home, his father leaves to work the first of his two jobs along with his mother. At the end of the book, the family comes together to eat the fish the boy and his father caught.
Evaluation: There is so much more to this book than the summary I wrote. This book is powerful. It tells of the struggle a family faced as a Vietnamese refugees. Even after working countless hours, the father and mother still lack the funds necessary to provide dinner for their family. This book shows the great lengths a father is willing to go to in order to provide for his family. I would love to use this book in my classroom because I think it is important to have students place themselves in someone else's shoes.
The age appropriateness is between third and fifth grade. There are some terms mentioned that might be unfamiliar to younger readers. Even if you were to define those terms to younger students, they still might not be able to grasp the full picture this book is illustrating.
I could use this book during the unit on world issues and how they are portrayed in literature. After I read this story, students could reflect on the world issue being discussed and the emotions evoked in them as the reader.
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