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.