Kandy Radzinski

A must read for me, a new resident. I learned some of this stuff before the move, but enjoyed learning more details in this book. Now, OK's history is problematic. We're a very 'red' state despite having a lot of African-Americans, Native people, and other non-white communities. But this book did honor representatives of almost all groups of people that have a significant presence here.

Informational – This book is like a mini encyclopedia of Oklahoma. The book is laid out in alphabetical order, and on each page is a picture representing a part of Oklahoma history. Both famous Oklahomans and historical events are covered. The book has sections written more for early readers and sections for older readers.

As a non-native to Oklahoman, I found this book to be both entertaining and informative. I did not know that Mickey Mantle was an Oklahoman before reading this book. The show more book reminded me of sad times from our nation’s history, like the Trail of Tears and the Oklahoma City Bombing.

For a classroom activity, I would have the students create their own state book using the same format. We would list other things about our state not covered in the book. At the back of the book is a quiz that the students could do to show how well they know about their state. show less

This book is about a kitten looking for a place to help. She goes and looks everywhere to rest her head. She tried to sleep with the cows, bunnies, chickens, in an arm chair, a swing, but none of those worked out for her to sleep in. Until finally, she slept at her best friends feet. I wasn’t to sure if she meant her best friend was the owner or the owners slippers because the slippers were kitten slippers. I like this book because of how the author suggests that there is no better place show more to sleep all sound and safe than by someone you love and are familiar with, your best friend. The illustrator did a fantastic job with the faces of the characters. They all have a cute adorable face that the kids would love to look at it. show less

S is for Sooner: An Oklahoma Alphabet by Devin Scillian
Summary: S is for Sooner is a great way to study the state of Oklahoma for younger student to learn state history. The use of the alphabet is a clever way to tell about Oklahoma. Each letter of the alphabet tells a little bit of history by using the letter along with a rhyme. On the sideline, the author gives facts that fit the topic the alphabet mentions. The illustrations complement the story line and helps keeps the children show more attention.
Person reflection: I can see myself using this book as part of my Oklahoma lesson plan. It has just enough information to teach the students without over whelming them. I found the information to interesting and simple enough to keep the students attention. The Illustrations give enough color and information that is not going to confuse the students.
Extension Ideas: I would like to have the students make their own alphabet books, or least a letter that we can combined to make a class book.
For older students I would like them to pick one of the letters in the book and do some research on that topic and write a paper on what they find. show less