Title: Pecan Pie Baby
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator: Sophie Blackall
Published Date: 2010
In
the book “Pecan Pie Baby” Gia was having a hard time dealing with the fact that
her mom was having a new baby. Gia felt like her mom would forget about her.
The only thing the baby and Gia had in common was their love for pecan pie.
“Pecan Pie Baby” was a great book that could be used in any elementary
classroom (K-5). Jacqueline Woodson created a book that could be used to teach
students how to deal with the arrival of a new sibling. This book could be used to teach a
lesson or as a self selected reading novel. The illustrations in this book are
great, and honestly was what made me pick the book up. I would recommend that
Elementary teachers add the book “Pecan Pie Baby” to their school library.
I chose to comment on this blog simply out of hatred for pecan pie.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the book could be very easy for students to relate to as many young students face welcoming a new sibling into the family every year. Students could write creatively as a reflection piece after reading this book as well.
Besides celebrating Pecan Pie--which is truly to be delicious and loved--this book also does an excellent job at representing the diversity of families. This is one of those instances where the pictures show a part of the story that isn't in the text. The girl's aunts and uncles come to visit in the course of the story, and the family turns out to be a mixed family, which some aunts and uncles having brown skin and other with white skin. This quiet part of the novel helps children see that there are many different types of families and that skin color doesn't make a difference in an Aunt nor an Uncle.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, the book does an excellent job showing the perspective of Gia--who sees everyone only wanting to talk about the baby. Gia notices that her aunts don't spend as much time playing with her because they want to talk about the baby. She notices the changes around. She notices that her grandmother wants to help give momma a break by taking care of Gia. It might be nice to do a discussion of perspectives---do the Aunts realize how Gia feels about the way they are treating her? Do they give her less attention on purpose? Why does Grandma offer to help take care of Gia? How does this make Gia feel?