Janice N. HarringtonReseñas

Eh. I wasn't that into it. I've lived in close proximity to chickens before, and, trust me, they're not worthy objects of interest.

Engagingly told story of America's first black entomologist.

This is a nice biography about a man who always asked “Why”. Why do ants not get lost? Can bees see in color? Can a cockroach learn? It is by asking questions and studying the animals that scientific knowledge is gained. Charles Henry Turner was a man of his time, whose constant questioning led to many scientific discoveries.

As a young boy, Charles Henry Turner was curious and had lots of questions running through his mind. He was fascinated by animals and bugs and decided to study their lives. His parents couldn't answer Turner's questions they bought him books. When books didn't answer his questions, he researched, experimented, and looked for answers on his own. The boy whose teacher urged him "to go and find out" grew into a teacher himself, a devoted scholar who taught students to look closely.

This book is recommended for primary students. This book depicts a girl on a farm as she chases chickens and watches chicks grow up. In my future classroom, this book could be used to talk about patience and how good things come to those who wait.

I have not read a lot of children's books that reflect diverse experiences--adult and YA books, yes. Not children's. I really liked this one--the illustrations were lovely, and the story would provide valuable exposure for young children to some of the difficulties African-Americans faced during the Civil Rights era.

Charles Henry Turner was a "pathbreaking" entomologist who contributed much to science, but was overlooked because he was African-American. Janice N. Harrington and Theodore Taylor III bring his life to light in this picture book biography about a curious, dedicated teacher and scientist. The author adeptly uses entomological figures of speech: "Questions that itched like mosquito bites ..." Charles never stopped asking questions, and encouraged his students to do the same; he was "indefatigable." Includes an Author's Note, black and white photographs of Turner, Timeline, Sources, Selected Papers by Charles Henry Turner, and Notes.

really sweet book about respecting animals, with a great story and interseting pictures, mix of illistrations and real picture colloage, could be great for a project.

One of the reasons I often dislike picture book biographies, is that their art, while sometimes beautiful, is not particularly eye-catching or likely to inspire a kid to take the book off the shelf. This cover grabbed me right away and drew me into the interesting story. Harrington's past as a librarian and author of excellent read-alouds makes the text accessible, even though it's lengthy.

This is the story of Charles Henry Turner, the biologist you've never heard of. Born in Ohio to a janitor and practical nurse, he struggled against prejudice and poverty but eventually became a teacher and then earned a master's degree and PhD. He taught in many different venues and became an honored researcher and colleague, known for his intelligence and indefatigable work and curiosity as well as his scholarship.

Colorful, bold art shows Turner with the insects that inspired him, never losing focus as he taught and worked throughout his too-short life. Taylor's art follows Harrington's story, always centered on Turner's scientific curiosity and strength of character, but drawing in various world events and not shying away from the prejudice and struggles he faced.

Verdict: While this is lengthy for a read-aloud, it would work well in an elementary classroom or for a strong reader to tackle on their own. Pair it with books about bugs to foster curiosity and exploration of the natural world in children, as well as encourage them to exhibit perseverance and focus.

ISBN: 9781629795584; Published 2019 by Calkins Creek; Purchased for the library

4.5 stars. I usually don't like books in verse, but I thought this was a wonderful story and I loved the relationship between Keet and her Grandpa. I also liked the variety of poem types and the author's explanation of each type in the back.

This book is an exciting and entertaining read. An accurate depiction of life on a farm. The protagonist, the "chicken chasing queen," attempts to catch her favorite hen! The book is filled with incredible illustrations.

A colorful book with a mixed media montage of chickens, a little girl, and her determination to catch Miss Hen. The funny sounds of chickens interwoven with the exuberance of the chicken chasing queen make this laugh out loud fun.

Janice N. Harrington did a phenomenal job writing this story, and I think this can be a good writing model for students. The way Harrington described things made the story come to life, and it added more detail to the story. For example, she wrote "I wish my toes were roots. I'd grow into a pin oak and never go away". That to me is so beautifully worded, compared to just saying "I want to stay forever".
Children can gain inspiration from this story, and even try to use similes and metaphors in their own writing.

This story is about a southern African American family who are relocating to the north for a better life. The story follows their journey during this time of segregation in the 1960's. It addresses the family's fears, hardships, worries, questions, and emotions during this difficult journey.

Age: 7+
Source: JBLM Grandstaff Library
Book was used for strategy instruction: Synthesizing for Adv Lang and Literacy Methods Class at Pierce College

An African American family is leaving behind Big Mama, loving relatives, and the familiar red soil and cotton fields of Alabama, Jessie and her family are going north to Nebraska. They are pioneers searching for a better life, one with decent schools and jobs. But traveling through the segregated South is difficult for an African American family in the 1960s. With most public places reserved for "whites only," they have problems finding places to stop to get gas and food.

Age- 6+
Source- Tacoma Public Library

This book is about a little girl who chases chickens and has a prize chicken in mind.. She finally corners the chicken but does not attack because the chicken has babies. LITERATURE.

Summary:
A little girl on the farm loves to chase chickens. Her goal is to capture her favorite chicken, which is the fastest chicken on the farm. She sets up traps to grab the chicken, but the chicken never falls for it. The little girl finds out that her favorite chicken just had babies, so she leaves the chicken alone and helps take care of the baby chicks.

Personal Reaction:
Cute story, reminds me of how the oldest child hates the new baby at first and wants to get rid of it, but then loves helping mommy take care of it. You never know someone until you really get to know them.

Classroom Ideas:
1. Go visit a chicken coop and try to chase chickens.
2. Have the children explain their ideas on how they would have tried to capture the favorite chicken.

Introduction: The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County is written in first-person narrative and tells the tale of a young girl who loves to chase chickens on her family’s farm, even though she is warned not to do so. The illustrations are vivid, using lace and fabrics, and actually tell the story along with the words. Onomatopoeia is used to bring even more excitement and life to the story.
Characters: The main character is the narrator, a young African American girl who deems herself the chicken-chasing queen. Other characters include Big Mama (a term used often for grandmothers) and Miss Hen, the chicken the queen wants to catch most of all.
Theme/Plot: The book appears to be about a spunky girl who simply loves the excitement of catching chickens and the endeavor of trying to catch Miss Hen. By the end of the book, however, a larger theme unfolds. The theme is learning from adults/family members and respecting nature, as the girl finds her favorite hen with a brood of chicks.
Author: The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County is written by Janice Harrington. Harrington spent part of her childhood in rural Alabama and the book reflects her upbringing. She writes poetry and children’s books with focuses on culture.
Summary: Big Mama warns the narrator, the star of the book (the chicken chaser) not to chase chickens because they will not lay eggs. The girl simply cannot help herself and spends her time being as still as she can be to capture the chickens, chasing chickens, and pursing Miss Hen. In the end, the girl understands the lesson Big Mama wanted to teach her when she finds Miss Hen with a brood of babies and vows she will leave her and her chicks alone.
Quotes: “Squack” is a word used throughout the illustrations in the book to bring sound and reality to the chicken chasing experiences. One can actually hear the noise of the chickens as they are being chased. When warned by Big Mama not to chase chickens, the queen of chicken chasing states: “...I just can't help it. I try hard to be good—but I'm the Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County.”
Overall Recommendation: The book is a delightful read and very entertaining for children. The illustrations are clear and crisp and provide as much fun as the story itself. Although fun, entertaining, and exciting, The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County teaches children that elder family members are wise and teach valuable lessons.

Will the Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County ever catch Miss Hen? What will it take for the Chicken-Chasing Queen to give up the chase? This is a delightfully suspenseful read-aloud. The text drives expressive reading with onomatopoeia’s sprawled over a page in large, block lettering. The use of simile and metaphor produce vivid imagery, connecting the listener to the Chicken-Chasing Queens adventure. Inference and character analysis abounds as you wonder why she chases chickens only to give up by the end. The illustrations are given texture, as a mix of oil paint, fabric, and printed paper are used to bring the characters and text to life. Body language and facial expressions truly speak louder than words in this text.

Media: Mix

A young girl declares herself the Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County. Her mother is against this kind of activity because she thinks it will stop the chickens from laying eggs. The young girl does not care though, she still goes out and chases those chickens because she is the chicken-chasing queen of Lamar County. There is one chicken, Miss Hen that just will not let her catch her, and she takes this as her biggest challenge. The girl thinks long and hard about how she can get this chicken in her hands, but continues to come up empty handed. She continues to try and try throughout the entire day with new plots and ideas to catch Miss Hen. Finally, she hears a noise that catches her attention and goes to find what it is. She finds Miss Hen sitting on a nest of eggs and chicks and she realizes that she was not getting catch because she had to be with her babies. The girl then makes a promise to Miss Hen that she understands now and will leave her alone. After this, Miss Hen brings her chicks back to the farm and prances around the yard while the girl is chasing off anything that may harm them.
This book is realistic fiction and has great illustrations to go along with it. This book shows the relationship between an animal and a girl. I think that this book shows a great explanation of this relationship.½

I really enjoyed reading this book for a lot of reasons. First, I really liked plot. There was a lot of suspense whether or not the family was going to make it to the north in time to escape the segregation. Also, the author left off with a mystery at the end. The whole time she kept asking "Am I going to like the North?" and when her family finally got there the story ended. I also enjoyed the pictures. The pictures were not very clear but they were very detailed. This book really pushes readers to think back to times when segregation was real and and had a huge impact on people's lives. The characters in this book are very believable because it is based on segregation and real events. One thing I didn't like was the language used. The word "negro" was used a lot and nowadays it is looked at as a racist term. The word makes me feel uncomfortable while reading the story. The main message from this story is to illustrate the struggles that people suffered with during segregation and how people should value the world that we live in today because times used to be very tough.

I liked and disliked this book, but mostly disliked. I thought it was kind of boring. I didn't like the repetitive language such as "don't know, don't know, don't know" or "good bye, good bye, good bye." This book was poetic in the form of a story book. For example, there were stanzas on every page. I would rather have just heard the story instead of it being so lyrical. The story line itself I liked because it shows insight to how hard it was for African Americans to travel from the south to the North. For example, Jessie's family station wagon was low on gas. She says "Will we make it? Will this place serve Negroes? Gas gauges says almost gone almost gone." The only characters really developed was Jessie. She was afraid to move North and afraid she wouldn't like it. Children can relate to this because lots of kids experience moving and they can see how Jessie is afraid, but in the end likes it!

Wow. There are so many reasons to love this book: the flowing words, the glorious illustrations, the love emanating from the pages, the actual feel of the summer sunshine on a farm as I read the book. My goodness! A wonderful book!

In this realistic fiction book, a young girl declares herself as the best chicken-chaser there is. Her mama tells her not to chase the chickens, but she does it any way. In the story, she is trying to catch her favorite chicken. She finds it almost impossible, but she does not give up quite yet. She tries to lure it in with food and worms, but even that didn't work. When she comes out the next morning to try again, she can not find the chicken anywhere. She searches and searches when she finally finds the chicken in the tall grass on a nest. With her, there are 3 baby chickens. While the girl knows she can catch the chicken now, she decides to not, and lets the chicken be with her babies. From that point on, the girl decided she would help the family and raise them to be fast runner so nothing, not even her, can catch them.