Poems for Brothers and Poems for Sisters

Poems selected by Myra Cohn Livingston and illustrated by Jean Zallinger

This book isn't as fun as the other poem books I looked at. The illustrations are detailed, and done in what look like pencil. The poems are good, and students in my class may want to free read this, but I don't think I would read it aloud to the class. I don't think it would hold their attention for too long. The poems are all about siblings, what they do together, quarrels, forgiving, and traditions. The poems all look about the same except the length. It would be a good book for diversity because the illustrations show different ethnicities.

nonsense! by edward lear

I love the style of this book. It is a book of poems, all of which are different but start off the same. They all start off with "There was an old man/woman of...." and then the poem continues. This is a good book of poems for younger children because the pictures are so fun and colorful. There are some harder words in the text, like relinquished, wreathed, and affable. These words, however, have the definition written in the illustration which I think is a really neat idea. So the kids are learning these words as they are reading and looking at the pictures. The pages with the poems written on them have great backgrounds like stripes, diamonds, polka dots, and flowers. The illustrations are dont partially on the computer, and partially taken from real life pictures. I would definately use this book in my classroom!

School Supplies a book of poems

Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Illustrated by Renee Flower

This was a very cute selection of poems. The whole book was very child centered. I think it is trying to get kids to become more excited to read poems. Many times poems can be perceived as being read only by adults, so I liked how this book was really geared towards kids. The illustrations on the pages had very vivid, bright colors. The people on the pages don't look like normal people. They are almost like cartoons with green noses, green hair, and blue cheeks. All of the poems are about a school object or something you would see at school. Each poem is written a little different, some poems have a word per line, and others have many spaces in between each line. I would read this in my class for a poem unit, I think it's an eye catching book that would be fun for elementary students.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

This book was not what I expected. I was expecting it to be actual poems, and it's not. It just looks like poems. It even talks about this through out the book like on page 23 how poems have a distinct look to them and they may not be a poem but it looks like one because they are short and don't go all the way across a page. This was interesting to me. It is basically like he is writing in his journal to his teacher but making it appear as he is writing poetry. You can guess what her responses were because of his answers back but they aren't actually written. I kind of wish they were. At times he is also very blunt. At one point he says "And the other dogs in the cages get killed dead if nobody chooses them." What a morbid comment for a young boy to write. I like when he makes a picture poem of his yellow dog. I bet that took a lot of time for him.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi

I didn't like this book in comparison with So Far From the Bamboo Grove. I didn't think there was as much action, and it took a while to get into. It was a slower read for me than the other novel. However, it was interesting to see both sides of almost the same story, or atleast time frame. I think this would be great to teach in an upper grade class. I really liked reading both of the books and I would recommend this dual book project, it would be a great lesson on perspective. Sookan is a very strong character. I can't imagine being that courageous, leaving home, watching my grandpa die, taking care of my little brother, or pressing on while leaving my mother at the passport check. I also would be depressed to not be able to show my culture. Sookan can't speak Korean or dress how she wants, she puts on a complete act at school. In fact most of the children at that school do, they are repeating things they don't believe and getting hit with rulers if they don't abide by the rules. How awful! At ten years old Sookan was doing all of these things! These characters grow up so fast, but they had to it was there lifestyle and these things had to be done. Even though all of these things were happening to her she still had hope that she took from her Grandfathers words. ""Afer darkness, there will be light. The light cannot come without darkness. Better days are bound to come now.""

Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic

This book was only okay. It's about a duck, Max who is making his own soup for his friends to eat at dinner. I don't think kids would know what half of the foods and spices he is adding to his soup. I wouldn't have known what chives or parsley were at a young age reading this, but who knows maybe I'm not giving them enough credit. The pictures are pretty plain although the duck is really cute with his over sized chef hat on. The characters are quite dramatic in this story which I don't know if I like, but it would be easy to create a play from this book! Max's friends are hungry and ready to eat so they venture into the kitchen and can't find the Max. His pot of soup is still on the stove so they convince themselves that he fell into the soup. As they strain the soup in attempt to find Max they claim they see his eyeballs which are onions, his head which is a potato, and his feet which are carrots. After they are done straining and pouring the soup down the drain Max walks into the kitchen, he had run out to get more ingredients for his soup. They end up ordering pizza, which I think happens more often than not when people, or ducks in this matter, try to cook. I liked this book, but it wasn't one of my favorites I have ever read.

A Book of Sleep By Il Sung Na

Honestly I saw this book on the new books shelf and grabbed it because of the title. A Book of Sleep, and that's exactly what I wanted to do-go take a nap. It's very simple, and would be cute to read on a Monday morning to your class when everyone is tiered, or right before nap time to get the kids to wind down. The pictures are interesting. They use solid colors and then have designs in the animals skins like squiggles, flowers, and dashes ever so faintly. It's a cool idea. The pages are on a different type of paper than I am used to. It's a thicker paper and some pages almost feel rough, but it looks normal.

This book is about an owl who sleeps at the opposite time as all of the rest of the animals. This book shows how all animals sleep differently. Some animals sleep standing, some make noise, some are peaceful. The owl who does not sleep during the night like the others then sleeps during the day when the others are awake.

Tarra and Bella By Carol Buckley

I usually don't pick out picture books to free read that are fictional. I am more into using my imagination. However this book caught my eye because of the names of the characters. I want to name my next dog Bella, and that is what this dogs name is. The book is about an odd pair of best friends. A combination you don't come across- a dog and an elephant. What a sweet story? The two met and became best friends and Bella the dog gets hurt. Tarra is sad and waits for a few days in the exact spot where he had last seen Bella. After a while he starts to walk to go find her, strangely enough he walks directly to the building on the Sanctuary where Bella was being cared for. He sees her through the window and the care takers know then the best medicine for the two of them is to be reunited. The pictures are all real life photos and the background colors of the pages are lime green, blue, and white.

This is a very informational story. I would most definately read this to my class if we were doing a unit on elephants, best friends, elephant sanctuaries, or zoo's. Believe it or not there are these elephant sanctuaries in the United States. I had figured they were in a different country but this took place in Tennessee!

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? By Lauren Child

I loved this book!! It's a little advanced. There are a lot of words on each page and they are kind of all over the place, but that is what makes it so interesting. The text size and font change frequently throughout the story too. It started off with Herb who loved to read but he wasn't actually a good reader so he mostly looked at picture books. Even this first page would be wonderful to read as a class because many of your students may like to read but not be good at it and feel that they are not reading when they just look at pictures. One night Herb falls asleep looking at his books and falls into a fairy tale. He wakes up inside the story of Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears, and then travels into Cinderella. The pictures are so intriging. A few times I had to put my finger up to the page to see if it were flat. The pictures are created from layering cut outs of real life pictures, drawings and paper. One page has opens up to make the picture larger which I think is fun for kids, and an other page has a hole cut out of it which is part of the story. There is even a page that is written upside down, you literally have to turn the book around to read it and look at the pictures. You will not get bored reading this book!

That's Why We Don't Eat Animals By Ruby Roth

Wow. I found this book because it has been talked about a lot in my classes and from students in my classes, so I decided to take a look to see what all the fuss was about. This is probably the most controversial book I have read this semester even though we already read all of our books on controversy. Whether or not I believe in eating meat from animals, I would not use this book in my classroom. I'm not saying I wouldn't allow it in my classroom, but I think I would cause an uproar by reading it aloud. It is so incredibly one sided, and infers that people who eat meat are bad people.
I also didn't particularly care for the pictures. The animals look funny, having big bodies and super skinny legs. Also, the snouts on the animals such as the cows are square and also don't look like any cow I have ever seen. The art work is good, don't get me wrong but I think they are trying to exaggerate some things like the way we feed ducks to make them fat so they can't fly so the pictures show huge ducks.

My Big Dog By Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

This book is a good one for animal lovers. It is about a cat and a dog living in the same house and not getting along because the cat was there first and doesn't want to share. This book could also be related to a child who is getting a new baby brother or sister. They are the only child in the family and they need to get used to the idea that they will soon have to share their belongings and time with their parents. I like the pictures in the book. Behind each picture is a solid color splash of a background. It really makes the illustration pop. The book is all in color except the humans, whom are black and white. I thought this was interesting. Why do you think the author would chose to do this? Did he want to make the race neutral? I also like how the title of this book tricked me. I really thought it was going to be about a child and how they loved their pet dog. Instead it is from the perspective of the cat, and it is her big dog. Not the path I thought it would go, but I liked it. I brought it for my child study because she loves books about cats and dogs.

Melvin Might? By Jon Scieszka

Although some people would be offended by the fact that Scieszka specifically writes for boys and writes about boys topics which may not be liked by all little boys I think he is doing a fantastic thing. He's getting boys interested in reading! He is writing about what they want to read and what they are interested in. Sure not all boys like trucks, being dirty, and talking about bugs but it is a fact that in a lot of cases they do! That is how our society works and I have a feeling it will be like this for a while to come. He isn't pressing upon that boys have to read these books and he's not being exclusive by saying that only boys can read these books. He simply is doing the best he can to encourage young boys to enjoy reading! This book is also in the Trucktown series geared towards preschool aged boys. The characters are the same, but this time they have a different adventure. In most picture books there are not series of books so I think this is a cool idea. Series of books start coming into play more with chapter books. The colors again in this book are very bright and fill the entire page. The text is scattered around the pages and changes size depending on the expression. Another fun thing about this book is that there is a pull out page. It folds out once so you are looking at three pictures at a time. Interactive things in books are always fun!

Smash! Crash! By Jon Scieszka

This book by Scieszka was made especially for preschool boys. My nephew is two years old and I really think he would enjoy this book! It's about trucks, now what two year old boy doesn't like a book about trucks!?! The pictures are good they use a lot of primary colors. The pictures take up the whole page which is a great thing for preschoolers who may not know fully how to read yet. So looking at the big pictures would be beneficial and enjoyable for them. The trucks have faces on them which I thought was cute because everything is "real" in a little boys world at that age. Everything to them has a name and feelings. The text changes and gets big when they want to stress something like the trucks crashing or yelling. The font is also a large and fun looking. Some letters look like a child write it like the "g" doesn't sit on the bottom of the line like normal "g"s should.

The Book That Jack Wrote By Jon Scieszka

This book kind of reminds me of the book There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed A Fly. It sort of goes backwards. It starts with one thing- the book that Jack wrote- and then each page adds one thing that's in the book that Jack wrote, that's in etc. It's a very simple read since it repeats everything from the page before and then only adds one line. This would be great for beginning readers. I think this would be a fun read aloud book to the class. I think the class would have fun creating images in their heads about the things inside the book that Jack wrote. The pictures themselves are very detailed but do not take up the whole page. They are set in the center and have a border around them. The picture is always on the right page and the writing is always on the left.

Cowboy and Octopus By Jon Scieszka

This book is so cute! The pictures are cut outs from different textures and designs to give a very unique style. Also, on the top of every couple pages is a sort of a title. It's made out of what looks like magazine letters. They are like mini stories always with the same two characters but about different topics and things they do. I like the humor in this book. The characters are kind of sarcastic which isn't something you usually see in childrens books. You can also learn some things such as how to be a good friend, and that octopus have eight tentacles.



I did this author for my API and I really enjoy him as an author. He has a ton of different genres like picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, and books especially made for preschoolers. He has books for all ages and he is unique in the fact that he writes specifically for boys!! Since boys often times are not as into reading Scieszka makes it a point to write books specifically geared towards their interests. He also has two fabulous websites that I encourage you to visit. The first website is about him and his books, it is his official website, and then the next website is solely for boys. This website gives many recommendations for other books by different authors that boys of all ages would enjoy.

Anticipation Set for So Far From the Bamboo Grove

What does it mean to have courage?

"And inspite of my anguish I smiled at him, I was so happy at the way he spoke. "Keep smiling," he said, and went away."


Controversy: Japanese crimes being white washed. What do you think?


What do you think this sword represents? How do you think this will fit in the book?

"She gave me a harsh look, "Just shutup and keep on walking.""

"Why can't you be strong and good like your honorable sister?"

Korea under Japanese rule

Where does this all take place?

By: Kyley Bussewitz, Kaitlin Moulin, Ashley Tate

So Far From the Bamboo Grove

I really liked this book. It was a quick read, and it kept my interest the whole time. It was extremely sad and heartwrenching. I can not imagine going through things that this little girl and family went through. Not eating for days, seeing people get killed in front of their eyes, being hurt and infections for weeks without getting help. It is absolutely unreal. This is a very inspirational book that I think maybe older elementary or intermediate age kids could read in their classroom. I think there would be many great discussions that could come out of this reading. This book really made me think about how life could be and has been in the past during wars. We are in a war right now, and I can barely tell. It's so different from this story! I don't know much about the Korean or Japanese culture so it was interesting to take in the facts such as about their food like eating misu soup or that on New Years they celebrate their birthdays instead of on the date of their actual birthday. The one thing I didn't really care for in the book was the ending. It was too abrupt. All of a sudden the girls meet with their brother and immediately it's over. I wish it had been dragged out a little more to wrap up everything that had happened. Although I understand because it is a book for a younger audience the length probably could not have afforded to be much longer. I would suggest this book to read in a lit study group as long as it had time for discussion. I really believe you have to have discussion with this book because there is so much going on and because of the hardships these people faced. There is too much to think about and let sink in.

semester reflection

I have really enjoyed this class so far. We get the freedom to read the books we want to, as well as having some guidance on certain weeks. Blogging is a new experience for me, and so far it has been a positive one. I think it's a great thing to learn because technology is such a huge part of our society. I have a feeling it will become more of a common thing used in schools over the next few years. I like how there aren't certain things that we are required to write about each book. It encourages us to become creative in the items we want to discuss. I feel like I have become better acquainted with both the public library and the curriculum lab because of this class and also with authors of children's books. It's been so long since I have sat down to read and really think about picture books. I now have a checklist of things I tend to look for in good books as well as to know if I am not going to enjoy it. It's a great break from the text books we read in college!!

DaWild, DaCrazy, DaVinci by Jon Scieszka

DaWild, DaCrazy, DaVinci by Jon Scieszka

DaWild, DaCrazy, DaVinci is a series of books specifically made for the enjoyment of boy readers. I read this chapter book because I am doing my API on Jon Scieszka and I had no idea he created chapter books. I was under the impression that he only made picture books such as The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs. In this book the three main characters are young boys. These boys refer themselves as the "time warp trio." I believe they are the same trio in every book of this series. This book has a lot of dialogue between th eboys. I like how he actually used phrases that young children would say such as " I know youare, but what am I?" I liked this book because of the humor it had, I even laughed out loud at some of the witty coments made. The boys travel back in time and in this case they get stuck in the years when Leonardo DaVinci was alive. In this book, DaVinci often talks about how he writes things in his book and journals in code like backwards and such. So, to keep the theme going throughout the book all of the chapter numbers are written backwards for example eerht would be the third chapter.

Hooray for Deffendoofer Day! By Dr. Seuss

Hooray for Deffendoofer Day! By Dr. Seuss

I loved this book! It is by Dr. Seuss but I have never read it before. It's one of those books where the cover does not do it justice. The pictures on the inside are phenomenal. They use vibrant colors, and detail. There are unique looking characters, everyone has different skin tones, color and style of hair, different size noses, ears, and body shapes. There are some pictures that have cutouts from other Dr. Seuss books such as Green Eggs and Ham and The Lorax. The pictures use the space well by having some pictures go off the edge to create interest. The text is all over the page, so you never expect where it will be.

There are made up words which are fun for kids. I know that I loved to make up names and words when I was younger. In fact I went through a phase where everything of mine was named Pompine and Takeed, and my family is still confused about where I cam eup with those. There are also made up inventions like how to keep the school clean with the "super-zooper-flooper-do-"

This book is about a school and it describes all of the teachers and the subjects they teach. When it talks about the librarian, the illustration includes about ten covers of other Dr. Seuss books-what a cute idea? In this book kids love school which is a great message for students who read this book. There are quite a few words on each page, but they rhyme so the reading flows nicely. This is an awesome book for teachers, i want it for my classroom! It is a fun book for kids to read!!

Pole Dog By Tres Setmour and Illustrations by David Soman

Pole Dog By Tres Setmour and Illustrations by David Soman

There aren't a lot of details in the illustrations of this book. The coloring is really neat though, it's made with oil pastels so it appears as though it is wet. On each of the pages there are borders of yellow trim that make the pictures pop. The text is large and black. The sentences are simple, and the main character is a dog which children relate to well.

At first I didn't like this book because it was so sad, and for some reason when books or movies involve animals in danger or fear that makes them twice as sad. Throughout the book I kept wondering why someone would write a book solely on a dog that was droppped off on the side of the road with no one wanting it. There are sentences like "Shooting funs at Pole Dog." And "Raining cold on Pole Dog." I think these are depressing sentences for children. The last page of the book explains that the occurrences in this book are very true, and many dogs and cats are left on the side of the road with no one to take care of them. It explains that you should call a local Humane Society if you ever see a pet without its owner. After this explanation of why this book was written I can understand and be more accepting to it. I still think it is a sad book for children, but it is a good read for them because it rhymes and it repeats phrases for beginning readers.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! By Dr. Seuss

Oh, the Places You'll Go! By Dr. Seuss

This book is so imaginative it creates a visual picture of a world unlike our own and unlike anything I have ever seen. I love the advice and the multitude of positive messages it shows such as even though sometimes there will be hardships you can make it through, you can create your own paths, do what you feel is right for you, all the decisions you will have to make down the road, don't just wait for things to come your way, take them on and make it them happen yourself. This is such a positive book and the messages could go on and on. The pictures use great colors like pinks purples and greens in a pastel shade. This book is great for graduation of a grade or maybe from an elementary school to middle school transition. You could read this book to your class at the end of the school year.

Puppies and Piggies by Cynthia Rylant and Illustrated by Ivan Bates

Puppies and Piggies by Cynthia Rylant and Illustrated by Ivan Bates

Puppies and Piggies is about a bunch of animals and their favorite activities to participate in. There are many good action words to describe what the animals are doing. These verbs consist of things like running, talking, hiding, rolling, and flopping. The sentences rhyme which I like in a children's book. It's cute that none of the animals have names, they are referred to as their animal name such as piggy, kitty, and goosey. This is a good learning tool for kids who are learning their animals. You could read this book out loud to them, while they look at the pictures. The pictures are good, some pages have full pictures and other pages just have one sole animal so they are kind of bland. The pictures have soft edges on the pictures and lots of details. This was a brand new book that was published in 2008. This book is also written by Cynthia Rylant whose books I really enjoy.

Moonlight the Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Moonlight the Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

This is a good book to get you in the Halloween spirit. It is a stereotypical Halloween story, talking about witches, scarecrows, black cats, and trick or treaters. I really liked the illustrations. They took up the whole page, and the colors were very rich. The colors are mostly dark colors except for the pumpkins. There is one page I especially liked of the cat sitting with the bright yellow full moon in the back ground. It's such a simple but powerful illustration. I brought this book to my child study and it was the first book she wanted to look at. She liked this book a lot, but I think it had something to do with the holiday being so close. I love this author, Cynthia Rylant always has great stories with exquisite illustrations.

The Misfits Part two

This book is actually a very sad book because it is such a true story about how kids are so mean to one another. It also on the other hand made me relieved because I know that middle school was a very awkard time for me but this book makes it apparent that these things happen to everyone, and it sticks with everyone too. LIke Mr. Kellerman said that we believe the worst about ourselves and we accept everything that others callus. Why do we do this?

This book shows that everyone has a story and a reason behind their actions and the way they are. It hadn't even crossed my mind that Bobby started to gain weight after his mother died. That was a hard time in his life and then he goes back to talk about hwo happy he was when he wasn't fat.

These kids want to grow up so fast, but it's funny because I was the same way always wishing I was older or not being able to wait until the next stage in my life. They think that they have found the loves of their lives, and that if they don't date the person they like right now then they will never find anyone else. Little do they know they will date many people before finding the one. It's also funny that Addie thinks she is in love with Colin, and they have a relationship with each other when all they have done is talked for a few minutes one day. I liked how the ending isn't what I expected. I was expecting the No Name Party to win with flying colors.

The Misfits Part one

The Misfits By James Howe

So far, I think The Misfits is a good book. There isn't a ton going on yet, but the build of characters is strong. I like the uniqueness of the formatting for a chapter book. Like when the kids are having their forum and Addie takes minutes, the text is displayed as if they are Addie's notes. This book has a nice flow to it which makes it easy to read. I also like how the setting is mostly at school. How would you like to have a student like Addie in your class? I'm sure we all will at some point have a student who wants to do things a little different every time, stand up for his/her rights, and not go with the flow of the classroom. I didn't think this book had any controversy in it at first, and I kept wondering why we were reading this book this particular week. With there being so much racial diversity at the school, and by having Joe, one of the main characters saying he's gay gives room for a lot of discussion. I think kids should read books like this to open up their minds a little. Especially at this level of reading, they are really in the stages of figuring out their own identities and standing up for themselves just as the group of misfits in the book.

Skeeze talks about boys when they are younger are so cute when they hold hands and do girl type things, but when they get older it is completely wrong. This is such a good point because that is exactly right. Why do we think this way as a society? Is it because we as people have more innocence as a child and then when we grow up it vanishes and we become corrupt? I don't get it. This book so far has made me remember actually how mean kids are. This book is completely true, kids are constantly teasing, calling names, poking fun, and no one either sees it happening or chooses not to do anything about it. How do you as a teacher handle things like this name calling in the hallways or in your classroom?

The Stupids Die

The Stupids Die By Harry Allard Illustrated by James Marshall

It is not only this book, but this series of books that are controversial to many people. Even the title The Stupids Die, could be taken by many parents as an inappropriate title. Many parents ban the word "stupid" from their household if they have young kids. I think these books are funny, and quite witty but I can see how parents could question their child reading them. The word "stupid" is repeated over and over in this book which gives off a very negative vibe. It also encourages this word to be said by children since it is in a book of theirs. I also find it kind of strange that the whole Stupid family eats breakfast together in the shower. This gives off the wrong impression of family bonding. I don't see it suitable for a children's book. Many of the Stupid family books also give off the notion that it is okay to talk back to your parents. This particular story about the Stupid family does not, but I don't see that as being alright either.

The pictures are very simple, and use only a select amount of colors. There is a consecutive layout, the pages on the left are white and have text, and then on the right page is always a picture. There is a white border and then skinny blue border around each illustration. I did find it amusing that on each wall of the house there is a new picture hung up that has a photograph of for example, a bird, but it is labeled "bus."

Heather Has Two Mommies

Heather Has Two Mommies By Leslea Newman and Illustrated by Diana Souza

I liked the story line of this book. I didn't think it was inappropriate in any regards. It was getting at the point that many families are unique. Some have two mommies, two daddies, only a mom, or stepparents. It was kind of cool that it took place in a school setting, and the teacher was very understanding. She used Heathers concern that her family was unlike any other, as a teachable moment. The teacher had the students all draw pictures of their families, and everyone had unique stories. This activity made it easier for the students to understand more about each other and appreciate the fact that each family consists of different parts.

The cover of this book had very vibrant colors all over, so I was not expecting it when I opened up the book and the illustrations were in black and white. I wished they would have been colored because it would have made it more fun. The pictures were fairly basic and in the center of the page. This was okay with me though because it gave more emphasis on the context of the book since it is such a huge issue being talked about. I did like on the pages after the students drew their families that it showed the child and then the actual picture they drew next to them. I thought that was a good idea

Smoky Night

Smoky Night By Eve Bunting and Illustrated by David Diaz

I think this would be a scary book for kids. It might put bad images in their heads that their neighborhoods are all going to have riots, that it is a common occurrence. Possibly their or fourth graders and up could handle this story. While I was reading, I questioned why they were rioting? I don't think there was any reason, it simply started on the first page. I think this might be the controversial part of the story.

I liked the ending of this book. In the beginning of the book it talks about how this little boys cat Jasmine and the neighbor's cat never got along, but after the fire in their apartment the fireman found them holding paws next to each other underneath the stairs. They become friends, and the boy suggests it was probably just because they didn't know each other at first. That is a perfect lesson to this story, to never be hateful to a person especially if you don't know them. However it also gives the idea that if we all got to know each other we wouldn't have riots. Is this the case? If we all knew each other would there be peace?

I loved the illustrations in the story. The pages were very unique, each page has a main picture that is a representation of that point in the story, and then instead of having white everywhere the background is covered. All of the pages are different but the backgrounds symbolize what is going on in the story at that time too. For example, on one page there is talk about a shoe store being robbed so the background is covered in soles of shoes. I also like the color of the skin on the peoples faces. They are a mixture of blues, yellows, reds, and purples. There is no set color of who these people are being "attacked."

In the Night Kitchen

In the Night Kitchen By Maurice Sendak

I don't get the point of this book. I didn't really care for it. Why did the chefs think Mickey was milk? Was it really necessary to have Mickey remove all of his clothes? I can see why there is much discussion about this book. It doesn't bother me that there would be a naked child in a picture book, all kids have seen their own body parents, it is a fact of nature. I just don't understand why it was necessary for this book. It would have had the same impact if the boy had kept his clothes on.

The illustrations had a lot of detail which I liked but for the first four pages the pictures and words don't start until about a quarter up the page. So the bottom quarter is completely blank. It seems odd, like a waste of space. I also don't like how many of the characters looked mad in a lot of the pictures. Another strange part to this book was the last page. It said "And that's why, thanks to Mickey we have cake every morning." I am wondering who has cake every morning? Cake is a dessert which is usually had a night after dinner.

And Tango Makes Three

And Tango Makes Three By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Illustrated by Henry Cole

I can see how this is a controversial book for many people, but I thought it was a very cute book. What I don't get though is the fact that it is a true story-so how could it be wrong? I don't understand why parents are offended with this sort of book. It's stating the facts that these things are happening around us. I don't think we should try to hide our students from this at any age. I think we should expose them early to every sort of family so other kids aren't getting made fun of for having a different family. The more they are educated the better off we will be for this type of thing.

This book is about penguins at the Central Park Zoo. It explains that all penguins pair with a boy and a girl and they have a baby together, that is their normal lifestyle. In one special case two boys paired up and fell in love. They were not able to have kids like the other pairs were, but one pair had two so they were given an egg to keep as their own. They loved and cared for this child just as well as the other penguin families. Other than it not being a norm for the penguins there was nothing wrong with this situation.

I enjoyed the story plot, I thought it was a good representation of a couple who, although they maybe a little unique, they can still do normal things and be loving parents. The pictures in this book were also very appealing. I liked how the illustrations were from different angles. On a few pages you see the view from the top looking down, so you can see the penguin's heads sitting in their nests. You don't see that in many books. The colors used were pale and mostly neutral colors. I liked how in the pictures the penguins facial expressions were all happy, especially when Roy and Silo's egg finally hatches. They look so pleased to finally be parents!

Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin

Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin By Cynthia Rylant and Illustrated by Sucie Stevenson

This chapter book is a very simple one for beginning readers. My second grade child study student picked this one out to read. She enjoyed it because of her love for dogs and Mudge the dog is one of the main characters. This book is about Henry's cousin Annie coming to visit. She is a very big girly girl. She wears all pink dresses, doesn't like to get dirty, and won't eat Henry's cookies from underneath his bed. After a while of Henry not being able to figure out anything to do with Annie they finally try playing frisbee and have a blast. Annie ends up loosening up a little and they have a great time together. It is like a picture book because there are pictures on every page, but there are more sentences on these pages then most picture books. The sentences though are very short, and very simple for example there is a page in which every sentence starts with "She..." The text is all the same and in clumps either at the top of the page or the bottom, but when a character is thinking the font is italicized so they can emphasize this action. Also, it is broken up into chapters which make students think they are reading harder books than picture books, even though they may not be. It's not my favorite book but I though this was a good book, it was a cute story.

The Fiesta Dress A Quinceanera Tale

The Fiesta Dress A Quinceanera Tale By Caren McNelly McCormack and Illustrated by Martha Aviles

I enjoyed this book a lot. It related to me because I love to dance just like the girl Lolo, I am the youngest child just like Lolo, and she speaks some Spanish which I am not very good at, but I enjoy reading. I love when pictures books have bits of other languages in them. I think when there are just a few words it is easier to learn them and have them stick with you. This book used Spanish words sporadically throughout the book, and then there was a glossary of words and their English meaning in the back just in case someone didn't catch on to what they were. This book was about Lolo who is the youngest in the family and she is always noticed because of being the youngest. However, on this day it was her sister's fiesta so Lolo was being ignored because everyone was preoccupied with things to do to prepare for the party. After she tells them all she is feeling left out they start to notice her again and things go back to normal. This is a good story that I think a lot of youngest children, and children who have siblings in general could relate to. Everyone feels left out from their family at some point in their life, and this is a good way for kids to see what to do when they feel this way. How to show emotions and learn to deal with feelings sometimes is overwhelming for a child and they react in irrational ways, so I think this shows how to deal calmly with situations such as these.

Harry the Dirty Dog

Harry the Dirty Dog By Gene Zion and Illustrations by Margaret Bloy Graham

This was a cute book about a dog named Harry who doesn't like baths so when his family was about to give him one, he runs away and he comes even dirtier by playing in coal, and mud. He starts to miss his family so he goes back home, but he is so dirty that they don't recognize him. He realizes the only way for them to identify him again is if he takes a bath so that he is back to his normal fur color, so he grabs the brush that he hid in the yard and goes inside so he can get a bath. After he is clean, his family realizes it is him, and Harry decides he doesn't hate baths as much any more. I liked the idea of this book because at some point I think every kid decides to run away from home because they don't like something or are scared of something. Then they end up missing their family and not making it very far so they come back. So Harry the dog could easily by a human character also. I didn't really care for the pictures in this book. The book is kind of old, it was published in 1956, and the pictures only use the colors green, black, white, yellow, and grey which makes them kind of boring in my opinion. The family that Harry belongs to is your typical family, especially during the time that this was published. There are two kids, a boy and a girl, the mom has an apron on and a mop in her hand and the dad is dressed up in a suit. The pictures are stereotypical but the story was cute, and its main character was a dog so I'm sure kids would like this book.

Follow the Line Around the World

Follow the Line Around the World By Laura Ljungkvist

I really liked this book. It is a very unique design. There is a line that starts on the first page, and continues on to connect every page together. The cool thing about this line is that it draws pictures as it goes, but there is never a break in it, it just keeps on going through to the next page. I think this is a really neat idea for a picture book. It kind of reminds me of an Etch-A-Sketch board, which would be fun for the kids to relate to-if they still have those? This would be a perfect book for learning about other cultures and animals in other places. It basically takes a tour of the world, traveling all over from places like Kenya, to New York City, to Antarctica and ending in space. I think the line indicates that we are all connected and similar in some way no matter where in the world we are. At each country, or continent, or city there are a bunch of facts about the place and about animals that live there. The text is randomly placed around the page. It is sometimes written straight across like normal, sometimes squiggly lines, and sometimes in a U shape. This book would be great for a unit on places around the world, or a science class about animals and where animals live. Because of the text placement, I would say this is for older grades reading levels, maybe third grade and up, unless the teacher was reading it to the class. The pages in this book weren't glossy like in most books. It actually feels like paper, which is kind of cool, but it seems very easy to rip. The pictures were detailed, fun to look at, and brightly colored. This is a cute and very informational book. I would love to share this with my class.

Wiggle

Wiggle By Doreen Cronin and Illustrations by Scott Menchin

This is such a cute book! I liked this book because of the illustrations. There is a conglomeration of different medias. Some pages have hints of real life photographs such as alarm clocks, grass, and butterflies. The rest of the page however, is done in a digital cartoon type of imaging. They balance each other out, and it is a neat idea to mix the two.

The book is simple book about a dog who loves to move around and wiggle. It is about his day wiggling around, from the time he wakes up in the morning to him going to bed at night. Throughout his day he wiggles with his breakfast, wiggles with his toys, and wiggles with gorillas. This is a very lighthearted, fun book. It would be great for a break in the school day to get the kids wiggles out after lunch possibly before they get back to their school work. It could easily be an interactive book, where the kids follow along with the dogs wiggles. The text changes with each page depending on what is going on. It is mostly always black, but some are bolded, some are large, and some are small. Every time the word wiggle is printed, it is larger than the other words on the page to make it more emphasized. I really enjoyed looking at the illustrations of this book.

Mine!

Mine! By Kevin Luthardt

This is a semi wordless picture book. Some pages have no words at all, and the other pages that have words only have a few. All of the text is in conversation bubbles, they are between these two little boys. They are brothers, and they get a package in the mail and don't know who it's for. They both assume it is for them and they fight over what's inside, which ends up being a stuffed animal dinosaur. The mom becomes involved once the dinosaur is almost torn in half from the two boys. She sends them to their room, and after awhile of sitting out, they come back to play and they both share the toy saying "yours, yours" a lot.

As I was reading the story I was wondering who sent them the package. I looked back at the beginning and it says both of the boy's names on the box, and the return address is from Granny. I'm wondering why though that Granny only sent one stuffed animal for the two of them, because the package says "Toby and Marcus."

The pictures are very bold, and there is a great use of color in the pictures. The pictures are large, and not a ton of detail which seems to fit the story, because it is not a difficult book. There is a white border around the pages so it makes the pictures stand out. I think this a good sharing book for kids who can't read or barely read.

Where is the Cake Now?

Where is the Cake Now? By T.T. Khing

Where is the Cake Now? is a wordless picture book. I had to look through it a few times to make sure I understood it. Sometimes I think wordless are harder to understand than picture books with words in them. There are so many things you miss when you are nt actually being told what's going on.

Picture books may seem easy to kids to read and they don't want to look at them especially when they are learning how to read because they feel like these books are for "babies." Really though they could be interpretation so many different ways which makes them so entertaining. This would be a fun book for students to lok at as a class and then go back to their seats and write about what they think happened and why characters did the things they did. Even though they all saw the same pictures in the same order I think they will all come up with completely different stories.

The story is about a town walking to a celebration and they are bringing these cakes on platters with them. It turns out someone stole the cakes because when everyone gets to the top of this hill where the party is going to be, there are no cakes underneath the platters. The whole story then is about finding out where the cakes are and who has them.

The Giver By Lois Lowry

The Giver By Lois Lowry

I really enjoyed this book. It took me a little bit to get into it, but I think it was because I was confused at first of what was happening. I also think it was because I had this preconceived notion in my head that it was going to be like Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings-very fantasy like, and I am not really into that. I don't find as much enjoyment out of those as I would a more true to life story. However, after reading a few chapters I was hooked on this one because it really makes you wonder what life could be like.

This was the first time I had read this book, and it really makes you think about how life could be if there were no emotions or color. People always talk about being "colorblind" in relation to races and although that seems like it would be a good idea, it doesn't really happen. I don't think we should try to turn a blind eye to race and pretend we don't see anything, because those are the types of things that keep us unique and build our character. Of course we should treat everyone equally and not give preference to any color, but I don't think pretending to be "colorblind" is effective either. I feel like this is one of those books where you could read it multiple times and still take something from it, or interpret things in a different way each time. Life would be so much easier if we lived in a society such as this one, but to me it wouldn't be as enjoyable. To me, life is about emotions, trying new things, and being different. Their life seems great, but I am hesitant to say that I would wish it upon myself to have a society like that.

Jose! Born to Dance By Susanna Reich and Illustrated by Raul Colon

Jose! Born to Dance By Susanna Reich and Illustrated by Raul Colon
This story was about a boy named Jose who moved from Mexico to America as a kid. Before he moves it shows the different ways of dancing that he saw and dreamt about that were part of the Mexican culture. I picked this book because I love to dance and have seen flamenco dancers before which are shown in this book. Jose was not able to speak English when he arrived and kids in his class made fun of him because of this. This encouraged him to strive harder and pursue his dreams in America. This is based on a true story of the founder of the Limon Dance Academy. It is another story about accomplishing the American dream, starting with nothing moving here and becoming successful.
The illustrations were simple but still very appealing because of a textured, grainy look. The book uses some Spanish phrases like “si” and “ole” on each page. Just enough to enjoy but not get confused as to what it means, you can pretty much figure out the translation through the context clues. I liked this book because it showed another culture besides American and the main character was a male dancer instead of a girl which is unusual. It was a refreshing change.

Yummy! Eating through a day Poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Illustrated by Renee Flower

Yummy! Eating through a day Poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Illustrated by Renee Flower
This book was very cute, and the illustrations were great. All of the objects like the bowls, eggs, and cheese, had faces on them which is actually great for kids because they think everything has feelings and that everything is real life like dolls and toys. You have to use your imagination while reading this book. The illustrations use bright colors and a lot of design which creates a textured look. The people in the illustrations have green skin which is a unique but neat idea.
Each page has a poem written by a different person. They are all about foods, starting with breakfast and ending with dinner and desert. There is a good variety of poems, some are long and some are very short. The rhymes flow well which calls for a great read aloud book. My favorite poem was called Jell-o Cups. It was about jello jigglers dancing. It was a descriptive and fun poem.

Leaf By Stephen Michael King

Leaf By Stephen Michael King
This book is suited for ages four and older. It is a semi wordless story. It is open to interpretation which I believe is much like most wordless books. Leaf would be a good book to inspire a writing activity for students to see what they thought happened or what certain things represented. The pictures to me weren’t phenomenal, which I thought they should have been because there was very few words. There was a common color hue throughout the entire book. Only brown, greens, and blues, were incorporated. The characters were simple with beady eyes and had one simple line for their mouth.
To my understanding, the mom shares her knowledge and experiences with the little boy, probably her son, which is actually a seed that then starts to grow on the top of his head. He still goes on doing his own thing but is guided by his mother because she has instilled her values and morals within him in this seed. He carries it with him until he’s older and he shares it with his kids.

Give Me a Kiss By Ron Van der Meer

Give Me a Kiss By Ron Van der Meer
This book is suitable for ages 4-8. It started right away on the first page, there were no title pages or anything. Give Me a Kiss is a good interactive book because you get to ring the doorbell on every page to see who’s on the other side of the door and the doorbell actually makes noise every time.
It is a very basic beginner fairytale, with only about five words per page. There are repetitions of phrases on each page which is good for new readers. These phrases were bolded on each page so if you were reading this to someone they could pick up on the line after the first few pages and read with you at those points in the book. It seemed kind of bland to me and not very exciting but my child study student wanted to read it last week and it was one of her favorites we read that day.
The main character, the frog, gets very beat up for simply asking for a kiss at each animal’s door. This was a little bit disturbing just because the frog was covered in band aids and black eyes at the end of story. It’s almost kind of sad, and then when he reaches the last door it is a princess who accepts. She turns into a frog too and they live happily ever after. You can’t help but learn the classic way to tell a fairytale as young as possible.

Alia’s Mission Saving the Books of Iraq By Mark Alan Stamaty

Graphic Novel
Alia’s Mission Saving the Books of Iraq By Mark Alan Stamaty
I’ve never read a graphic novel before. I have read comics in the newspaper but not in a book form. This genre was new to me, I liked it. I wasn’t sure if I would or not because usually I am not into a lot of science fiction or hero stuff but this was interesting to me because it was based on true events.
Alia’s Mission is about Alia, a librarian, who is a superhero but not an ordinary superhero. Alia is so concerned with her library being destroyed in the war and the government won’t do anything about it so she starts stealing books out of the library to save them. The whole town helps get the books out and that night the library went up in flames. They saved over 30,000 books in this brigade.
It is based off of a true story and is based in Basra, Iraq. It looks as though it is an older book, but was written in 2003. The pictures are done in pencil and there is no color. There is quite a bit of diversity and learning about other cultures in this story. It doesn’t adhere to our societies stereotypes which I liked. I didn’t know they were so much like us in America. It shows televisions, cars, and phones in the illustrations. These are not objects I would normally think about being common in the Middle East. I think this would be a good book for older elementary students.

Goldilicious By Victoria Kann

Goldilicious By Victoria Kann
This is a new book published in 2009. It is very much geared towards girls, which is why I think I liked it so much. Because it focuses on pink and supposedly only things that girls can appreciate, it may not be good for a whole class share, but I would definitely recommend it to an elementary aged girl. It just doesn’t pertain to and make connections with enough students.
Pinkalicious, the main character, has an imaginary unicorn Goldilicious aka Goldie although she thinks Goldie is real. Goldie runs away and Pinkalicious looks everywhere for her. At the end of the book Goldie turns out being in Pinkalicious’s dreams when she closes her eyes and goes to bed safe and sound.
It is an extremely imaginative book. There is the color pink drenched on every page, which is probably why I loved it so much. The illustrations use the whole page, and they start to get very creative as the story goes on. On one page Goldie and Pinkalicious are dancing in the front yard and if you look closely there are music notes and written music in the background. The grass, the houses, and the leaves on the trees all have these notes. The first time I read through this book I didn’t even notice because it is so very subtle so it’s easy to look right over the details like that. From that point in the book on there is this same idea on each page but in the background only. When I first noticed these music notes, I thought am I missing something? Is this supposed to be sung aloud? I didn’t understand the meaning of this visual music everywhere. After reading the back flap, I figured out that this story was performed as a musical in New York City which I assume then is what represents the notes.
Pinkalicious has brown hair which was actually surprising to me because usually princesses and little girly girls are portrayed as blondes with long, curly, perfect hair in most books. Pinkalicious has stick straight, brunette hair that are in pigtails. They stick straight out from under her pink pointed princess hat. The unicorn on the other hand has a perfectly curly blonde flowing mane.
This book was absolutely adorable!

CAN YOU COUNT TEN TOES?

Evans, Lezlie. CAN YOU COUNT TEN TOES?

Can You Count Ten Toes is about counting to ten in ten different languages. This is a great way to incorporate learning about other languages. The students should master English numbers first, because English is not accounted for in this book. I don’t know if the students would be able to learn all of the other languages, but it would be a fun activity to learn a few of the numbers. One of the cool things about this book is the languages that the author chose to use. To me, the languages used are very unique dialogs that we don’t often hear about such as Zulu, Hindi, and Tagalog.
Each page counts to ten using different items such as toes, hats, and lightening bugs. There is a poem at the top of each page and it acknowledges which language is going to be used. Then numbered in English is one through ten and next to that is the featured language one through ten and also in parenthesis how to pronounce it. The font is large and spaced out so it is easy to read.
I don’t care for the pictures in this book because they are too simple and use very dull colors in my opinion. The characters have beady eyes and not much detail is put into the drawings.

FIRST NUMBER BOOK

Kingfisher. FIRST NUMBER BOOK

This interactive book has large pictures representing different numbers and about three questions per page asking counting questions. For example, one question is “How many windows does each house have?” Although it is called First Number Book, I think it should be used with students who already know their numbers and are just getting used to applying them, because it does not actually step through the numbers. The author assumes that the audience already can count.
The pictures are bright and very simply drawn. There are about five or six large blocks of pictures on each page which is a great use of space.
I was kind of disappointed because there is not actual story. This book is more focused on thinking and working on beginning strategies in math. I think this would be a great book to use in a classroom, but not as a read aloud to the entire class. It is setup to be more of a one on one tool.

CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM

Martin, Bill Jr. CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM.

I remember this book from when I was a child. It is such an enjoyable and fun book. This bright colored book is about the letters in the alphabet climbing up a coconut tree one by one. Once Z reaches the top they all fall out and it repeats the alphabet again. This is a great way to reinforce the alphabet. By seeing all of the letters twice in order is a great beginner learning tool.
This book is very simple but has powerful pictures. There is a polka dot boarder around each of the pages which I think is a good use of space since the illustrations are very plain. The letters of the alphabet are good size in the illustration so they are easy to visualize. The font also becomes bold when a letter is mentioned. Also, the story has a good rhythm and rhyme to it which makes it easy to read. All of the pages have a white background to them except for the two last pages. I think that is a strong ending and simply just the color of the background you can tell when it has changed from the day time to night in the story. This is a great book, it is so catchy and a favorite of mine growing up!

NUMBERS IN A ROW, AN IOWA NUMBER BOOK

Pierce, Patricia A. NUMBERS IN A ROW, AN IOWA NUMBER BOOK

Each page in this book has a number 1-12 using different things that represent Iowa. This is a perfect book for classrooms in Iowa. I actually learned a lot about places and inventions in Iowa such as in a town called Burlington, Iowa there is the most crooked street in the world. After the number 12 it goes by tens through 100. The actual story is a simple counting book with only about a sentence per page. On the side of each page is a detailed description about the place, event, or invention. This reading is much more in-depth. A teacher may decide to read the side panels of each page before she reads it to the class and then simply explain a little more in detail about the event if there is time.
The illustrations are very close to real life photographs almost in a colored pencil type of look. I like how the numbers on each page are written and show the numeral. This is good to show a visual connection between the two for kids who are just learning their numbers.
I enjoyed this book. I think it was well written and good for many age groups because of the simplicity of the story and the further side information that are available but aren’t really part of the story.

Mama’s Kiss

Mama’s Kiss by Jane Yolen
Ages 3-6
I thought this was a really sweet book. I really enjoyed this book, but probably wouldn’t read it in front of my classroom just because it may be kind of more geared towards girls. Either sex could read and enjoy it but I think it has more appeal for girls. It’s about a mom who blows her daughter a kiss and it misses her but catches her brother and then bounces around to different things and places. Near the end of the book the kiss hits a runner who then comes home and kisses his wife which is the mom from the beginning of the story, who then kisses her daughter, so it finally makes it back to who it was intended for. It’s kind of like passing love around and if you share it with someone else they will share it with someone and eventually it will make it back to you again.
The pictures are spaced around each page so they all look a little different. All of the characters look very happy, they have huge smiles on their faces which I liked. There’s only one sentence on each page, so it is a pretty basic read.

Don’t Sit There!

Don’t Sit There! By Jill Newton
Ages 5 and above

I did not care for this book. The story was about Fat Aunt Marylyn who sits on the couch and it breaks in half. The family gets a new big couch and the all of these things start randomly disappearing. I was very confused at this point in the book because people and things would just magically vanish. Then Fat Aunt Marilyn tries to sit on this couch and it again breaks in half. The catch this time was that all of the things that disappeared like the workers who brought the couch in, grandma, and her birthday cake all were back because they were stuck inside the new big couch.
I think this book was rude and sends a bad vibe towards their overweight aunt who they actually call “fat Aunt Marilyn.” The kids also make fun of how Aunt Marilyn broke the couch on the first page of the book which I think also sends off a bad message. This book in a way shows that making fun of overweight people and calling them names are okay to do.

There was an Old Monster!

There was an Old Monster! By Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley
Preschool-grade 2

This book is a modern version of the book: There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. It was identical to the book except for in this story it was a monster swallowing things. I really liked There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly when I was younger, but I didn’t care for this one as much. It was a good book, but I couldn’t help but think about the original. It’s kind of like how there are a ton of versions of Cinderella but usually the original one you read is your favorite.
The illustrations were cool because it was always on a black background and so the colors that were used were neon colors. The pictures took up the entire page which I always think is more attractive when reading picture books. The print was large, and the font kind of reminded me of a Halloween writing, which matches the theme of the monster.
This story is neat because the words flow so you can sing it while you are reading it. Also written on the cover it says you can download the song off line, and it gives you a website so it is an interactive book too.

Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep! Listen to the City

Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep! Listen to the City by Robert Burleigh
Ages 3-7

I think this would be a great book to use in the classroom if you are talking about senses. It concentrates on our hearing sense by listening to the world around us. We don’t realize that we hear these things everyday, but if we made our self stop and listen we would most definitely hear a lot of the same noises from in this book. It is a very simple word book. There are about six words on each page and they rhyme to make it flow nicely.
The noise words are written in very large text next to the object that makes the noise. For example, one page says “Bridge arms lifting, Barges drifting.” Then “Clang Clang” is written over by a picture of the barge in the water. Putting sounds and their objects together I think make it easier for the reader.
The illustrations in the book took up the whole page. The pictures were all done graphically on the computer, which gives it a very modern appeal to the book. I thought there was great use of bold colors.

Recycle Everyday!

Recycle Everyday! By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Grades K-2

This is a fantastic book for the classroom. The characters were bunnies, and they had such unique names like Minna, and Pip. The point of the book was to learn how to recycle. It was very informational and gave a multitude of easy examples that even kids could do. It also gave the definition in simple terms of recycling so kids can learn what it is and then how to do it.
This is also a great book for learning the days of the week. It says on Monday this happened and on Tuesday this happened, and each time there is a day of the week it is bolded so that it stands out.
When Minna attends school to show off her poster of how she recycles you see the whole class of bunnies and surprising to me all of the bunnies are different colors. There are black, grey, and many shades of brown ones. To have diversity with characters even though they are bunnies is a positive for a well rounded children’s book.
I really liked the pictures in this book while I was reading it and then at the end I come to find out it was all made by recycle materials such as paper bags, inside of an envelopes, and bar code labels. What a fantastic idea for a kid’s book!
In addition to all of the great ideas inside of the book, at the end there is a recycling game and activity idea for kids. This book makes an easy recycling unit for a teacher. This is an awesome book!

Arthur and the Popularity Test

Series novel: Arthur and the Popularity Test #12 by Stephen Krensky

Ages 7-9

The characters in the book bring a bunch of stuff from home to school in order to make music with. Someone accidentally brings a magazine in their bag from their teenage sister. The magazine is called popular girl and two of the girls end up taking a quiz about how likable they are. The results of the girls quiz were that one draws too much attention to herself and the other not enough which means neither are likable. They end up trying to change the way they act so that they will be likable when they are teenagers. All of their friends notice these changes and are not happy with them. They like their friends the way they were before they took the quiz. This book shares a good message for kids about being yourself no matter what. Even though it may seem cool to act one way, it’s better to stay what you’re comfortable with and not change for anyone.
I really liked the descriptions in this book, it gets you involved in the story right away. It was also easy to follow along with which is needed for a beginning reader of chapter books. I think these characters were created well, they each have very distinct personalities. I think that is a necessity for books in a series. The characters in each book are the things that connect all of the books in the series together. If the characters aren’t created well so you can visually see them in the readers head then the author won’t have a successful series.

The Fourth Floor Twins and the Fish Snitch Mystery

Chapter book:
The Fourth Floor Twins and the Fish Snitch Mystery by David A. Adler and illustrated by Irene Trivas
Ages 7-10

I found things that I liked and disliked in this chapter book. I loved that the kids in the book had huge imaginations, like most kids do. Their extravagant reasoning’s for why things were happening was amusing for me. I also liked that this book was a mystery. I think mystery books are good for kid’s minds. They make them analyze, think, and predict about what is going to happen. I think it really engages a child into the reading.
I noticed there were an awful lot of quotations by the characters. I don’t know if this is a common theme in children’s chapter books, but I felt as though I have never read a book with so many quotations. There were also a lot of characters which could be confusing for a beginning reader of chapter books. I believe this book is part of a series, so maybe if a student had read multiple books with these characters they would be able to keep them straight easier.
The kids in the book were very influenced by what they had seen in the media which is a reality of children. The kids watched a movie called Tuna Fish Snitch which was about criminals who were neighbors. After watching the movie the children assumed their neighbors were criminals, simply for the fact that they were their neighbors. They started coming up with ways that their neighbors were acting weird. Also, newspapers on door steps started to go missing which was again blamed on the neighbors. I think acting out movies and t.v. shows are something that all kids do at some point in time, so would be able to relate well to this story.

Ten Rosy Roses

Ten Rosy Roses by Eve Meriam and illustrations by Julia Gorton

I really enjoyed this book. The words rhymed which makes the reading flow easier for beginning readers. The diversity in this book was noticeable. There were kids with all different hair colors, skin tones, and dress. The pictures took up the entire page which I think made the book more interesting, however the pictures were very simple, there was not a lot of detail.
This book is great for learning numbers one through ten. I liked that there was a visual count of roses on each page. This encourages interaction with the book because kids can count along if they choose to.
The story started off with ten roses and on each page a child takes one rose. By the end when there are no more roses there is a picture of all of the students giving a bouquet of ten roses to their teacher. I think this is a thoughtful story that gives off the positive message of giving and diversity.

Whatever

Whatever by William Bee
All ages

The book Whatever was not a very appealing book to me. I think it gives off the wrong message to children and the pages are very plain. Most of the pages are completely white with a simple picture. The sentences are short and there are only about five words maximum on each page.
The child in the book is named Billy, and Billy’s dad is trying to make Billy happy. He shows Billy a multitude of things and all Billy replies with is “Whatever.” I don’t think this is a good phrase to teach young kids. This is especially rude because he is saying this multiple times to his father. Towards the end of the book Billy’s dad tries to scare him with a hungry tiger and Billy again says, “Whatever.” The tiger then eats Billy, starts walking away, and the dad simply says “Whatever.” This to me gives off the impression that families don’t care for each other.

A is for Salad

A is for Salad by Mike Lester
All ages

I think this book would be confusing for little kids, especially ones who are just getting comfortable with the alphabet. This book goes through the alphabet from A to Z saying phrases like “A is for salad,” and “B is for Viking.” Clearly, to any good reader they know that these are not the case. The entire book says these confusing and untrue sayings. The kick to this book is that there is a picture which each letter that signifies the correct object starting with that letter. So, when it says “A is for salad” there is an alligator eating a salad and then for “B is for Viking” there is a picture of a beaver dressed up as a Viking. This book looks like it should be designed for very beginning readers because of the amount of words on each page, however I strongly believe they would be very confused by sentences.

How I Became a Pirate

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and David Shannon

Age 3-7

This book uses children’s imagination to its fullest. It is a great book for taking children into a dream world. On the inside cover written by the librarians it says the book is suitable for ages three to seven years old. Personally, I would not suggest this book to kids lower than five years old. I don’t think they would get it because there are some harder words for example: battening, swabbing, and moat. I don’t think a three and four year old would know what any of these words are. Also, some of the pictures are kind of scary especially for a three year old.

The pictures weren’t perfect, which I liked, for example some pictures weren’t colored in all of the way and some edges were kind of jagged so it looked as if someone had drawn right on to the page. I liked the imperfections of the illustrations because it gives the realistic idea to kids that their art doesn’t have to be perfect either. I enjoyed the detail of the pictures which made the pages interesting to look at. I thought the use of space on the pages worked well. There was one page that had pirates lining the edges as a border so even the top was lined; the pirates were just upside down.

I liked how if the pirates all said something as a group such as: “Down the hatch” or “Aargh! Soccer!” then the font changed and got much larger. I think this helps for new readers who are reading aloud so they know when to change their tone and it helps add emotion to their reading skills. This was a great overall book, however I think it’s a little more advanced reading than a three or four year old.

Here a Chick Where a Chick

Here a Chick Where a Chick? By Suse MacDonald

Ages 3-5

Here a Chick Where a Chick was a very colorful and interactive picture book. It appears as though there are different textiles with each color used in the pictures. Each page repeats the same saying “Here a chick where a chick?” which I think is good for beginning readers. Then behind a flap on each page is an animal hiding, in which they say “No, not here a chick…” while describing the animal that is there. On the last page there is finally a nest of chicks. I think this book is also a great tool for learning animals names and the sounds they make because each animal is saying their sound, for example “No, not here a chick…just one cow with a Moo Moo Moo!” I think this would be a fun book for children to read because of the pull flaps, it lets them do something while they’re reading. Even if they don’t know how to read yet, this would still be an entertaining book to look at. There are not many pages so it goes fast and the letters are in large print which is less intimidating for a beginning reader.

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