Princesses Wear Pants

Title:  Princesses Wear Pants

Author:  Savannah Guthrie and Allison Oppenheim
Illustrator:  Eva Byrne
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers © 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2603-3
Grade Level: PreK-2
Book Review:  In the Pineapple Kingdom Princess Penelope Pineapple plays a very important role.  While she can dazzle in her gowns and crowns, some of her most important work is done when she dons her pants.  From exercise, to gardening, to hosting the science fair, there are just some times when even a princess needs to wear pants. Guthrie and Oppenheim tell an engaging tale of a modern princess who sets an example for what a competent, confident girl can do.
Systems Thinking Connections:
Habits:  The title of the book, Princesses Wear Pants, suggests that the text offers a classic story for challenging mental models and it doesn't disappoint.  It creates a believable context for exploring these important issues. It would also be a good text for looking at the Habit, surface and test assumptions.  While Penelope is comfortable in her pants, not all her subjects share her perspective, but in the end her level-headed competence changes the point of view of some of her naysayers.

Tools:  Can you tell a reinforcing story about what contributes to competence? Keeping in mind that you must be able to talk through a loop more than one time, so you can't just say that the right outfit leads to  princess success, but Princess Penelope definitely portrays some attitudes that contribute to her sense of confidence and accomplishment.

I am a boy of color

Title:  I am a boy of color

Author:  Deanna Singh
Illustrator:  Ammar Nsoroma
Publisher:  Orange Hat Publishing © 2016
ISBN:  978-1-943331-21-5
Grade Level: PreK-adult
Book Review: Passionately committed to changing the image of boys of color in modern society, Deanna Singh created a picture book designed to celebrate the best qualities and reinforce the positive characteristics found in children.  The book begins with a boy looking in the mirror and transitions to positive affirmations of what he can see.  Each quality and characteristic carefully selected to create a portrait that brings deserved honor to boys of color.


Systems Thinking Connections

Habits:  While the text does not reference the tern leverage specifically, Deanna Singh used her understanding a system structure and identified the creation of a children's book as a leverage action. This book filled with positive messages, read to multitudes of children, multitudes of times will affect mental models. Impacting mental models is the greatest way to bring about significant change, affecting current reality and the future. Another explicit purpose of this text is for boys of color to make personal connections, being able to see themselves in this powerful piece of children's literature.
Tools:  Teachers using this book with young children and early readers could take any of the positive characteristics or qualities -- possibility, joy, pride, caring --  and look at those through the lens of a stock-flow map. Building  multiple stock-flow maps could lead to discovering the connections and interdependencies between these qualities.

Baby Baby Blah Blah Blah

Title: Baby Baby Blah Blah Blah!

Author:  Jonathan Shipton
Illustrator:  Francessca Chessa
Publisher:  Holiday House ©2009
ISBN:  978-0-8234-2213-5
Grade Level:  PreK

Book Review:   Like many young children, Emily is faced with the news that her parents are going to have another baby.  Emily loves to make lists, so she makes lists about the new baby, both the good and the bad.  Her conclusion, once the baby comes it will be all about the baby and life will no longer be all about her.  Emily is eventually convinced of the joy this baby will bring.  That is until the author suggests that one more surprise is still in store. As this book is available in Turkish, I dedicate this entry to the enthusiastic teachers with whom I had the privilege of working this summer.

Systems Thinking Connections:
Habits:  Considers an issue fully and resists to the urge to come to a quick conclusion.  
Emily believes that once the baby comes it will only be about the baby, but through thoughtful, loving explanations and assurances from her mom and dad, Emily reconsiders and adjusts her assumptions. A very similar discussion could focus on the habit, Considers how mental models affect current reality and the future.  Emily and her parents are anticipating the same event, but each has a very different point of view about what the future holds.
Tools: Behavior Over Time Graphs (BOTG). This book includes specific language that makes it ideal for  young children to craft their own BOTG.  For example, "The baby bump grew.  And a little worry started to grow in Emily's mind.  The bigger the baby bump grew, the bigger Emily's worry grew."  This language from the text supports children's understanding of a simple dynamic:  Change over time.  Children familiar with the BOTG will be able to recognize this language and use it as inspiration for their own BOTG. Under the guidance of a sytems-focused teacher, along with some prior knowledge, children could graph a number of variables related to the pending birth of a new sibling. The actual timeline of the printed story is quite short; however, dad describes his sense of happiness over a much longer period of time.  Children could create a BOTG that spans the time before Emily was born and projects to the arrival of the new baby.  These graphs could support a genuine conversation about the story and an opportunity for children to share and graph their own experiences with the birth of younger siblings. 
This book would also be a good one for using the ladder of inference.  While the text is quite simple, it abounds with opportunities for inference.  For example, what is Emily paying attention to that leads to her beliefs about her new sibling. What are some actions she might take based on her beliefs at different moments in the story?  How do her beliefs change?  What causes that change?

When the Wind Blows

Title:  When the Wind Blows

Author:  Linda Booth Sweeney
Illustrator:  Jana Christy
Publisher:  G.P. Putnam's Sons ©2015
ISBN:  978-0-399-16015-8
Grade Level:  PreK-2
Book Review:  What happens when the wind blows?  In this story when the wind blows, something magical happens.  Through a series of exquisitely articulated two-word sentences readers experience wind beginning with a gentle breeze, escalating into a full blown thunder storm and then laying as evening comes. Beautiful in its simplicity the book illustrates the effect of wind and it challenges the reader to examine his feelings about this often maligned element of weather.  The story offers a wonderful opportunity for readers to experience descriptive writing, not through flowery modifiers, but rather a series of carefully chosen sensory images.  When the Wind Blows is a masterful combination of elegance and simplicity, power and whimsy--not unlike the wind.
Systems Thinking Connections:

Habits:  Recognizes that a systems structure generates its behavior. Each phrase in the story illustrates the effect of wind on a different part of the system.  Paired with this Habit of a Systems Thinker card (left), teachers and students can create a wealth of connections with this habit.  
Considers how mental models affect current reality and the future.  Beliefs and attitudes affect our perspectives.  Wind is often labeled as an unpopular weather element.  The characters in this story have a very different view, embracing the change in weather and making the very best of the blustery conditions.  Their response to a windy day would be a great conversation starter connected to the reader's thoughts and feelings about the wind.
Tools:  The book illustrates with profound simplicity the dynamic intensity of the wind.  Even very young children could use a behavior over time graph to show the change in the wind.  Great vocabulary could be developed when building the y-axis:  breezy, gusty, blustery, and squally to name a few.

Bonus a parents guide is available for this book can be accessed at http://www.lindaboothsweeney.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/When-The-Wind-Blows-Guide.pdf