Final Reflection

I am truly happy I had the opportunity to take this class. I really enjoyed being able to read children's literature for pleasure. It's not often in my college life I give myself the opportunity to relax and enjoy picture books and novels. It was fun to read some of the books that I used to love as a kid, it really brought back a lot of memories. Not only did I enjoy the structure of the class, but I learned how to incorporate literature into my future classroom. I want to be that teacher who has an amazing library with a variety of books for kids to choose from. Learning about the different genres really opened up my eyes to all of the different things kids could be interested in. It was also interesting to me to discuss controversial books. Knowing how to talk to parents and handle situations is very important. Also being able to discuss different view points is very beneficial to me as a person and my future students. As I work on my text set, I discover what kinds of qualities good literature contains and what qualities I enjoy. This class had a very positive impact on me and my future classroom.

Amber Brown is not a Crayon

Amber brown was written by Paula Danziger. I chose this book because I remember when I was younger I used to really enjoy Amber Brown books. I think they appealed to me when I was younger because Amber was about my age when I was reading them. The title Amber Brown is Not a Crayon stuck out to me, I know it was one of my favorites. Amber is having one of the worst school years ever, but at least she has her best friend Justin to get her through. Then, just finds out he is moving away and he doesn't talk to Amber about it. Amber gets very angry and decides not to talk to Justin EVER! In the end Amber finally realizes the true value of friendship what she needs to do to get through in her life. I really liked reading this book. It just took me back to when I was younger and I felt like I could really relate to the story. I went through a similar situation when I was younger when one of my good friends had to move away. She ended up actually moving and we stayed pen pals for a long time, but the emotions that Amber Brown went thought I felt were really ratable. I remember being angry that my friend had to move and thinking it wasn't fair. I recommend Amber Brown books to everyone.. they take you back and make you feel like a kid again!

Black is Brown is Tan

Black is Brown is Tan was written by Arnold Adoff and illustrated by Emily McCully. The story is about an interracial family and their feelings. The story is written in some form of a poem. I however found this to be extremely difficult to understand. The story did not use punctuation and was not in a poem format that I was have ever seen before. An example of a page/verse is : I am mom am mommy mama mamu meeny muh and mom again. I wasn't sure what language these were all in or what race all of the different people in the story were. I really lost meaning in the story trying to read the format the book was written in. I thought it needed to be separated by some sort of punctuation or by lines. The story also talked about a lot of different people and their races. I sort of got mixed up about all of the different people that the story was trying to explain to it's readers. I felt really disconnected to the book while reading it and do not feel like I was able to truly take in the meaning and message of the story.

Blackboard Bear

Blackboard Bear was written and illustrated by Martha Alexander. The story is about a young boy who gets yelled at by his mother, so he has to go to his room and go to bed. When he goes to his room a bear that is drawn on the blackboard comes to life and they go on an adventure together. He realizes on this adventure how much he misses his mother and wants to be back in his room, so in the morning he goes back. I really did not like this story. When the bear and the young boy went on their adventure, the bear did not actually speak, but the boy responded to what the bear was saying. You could tell what the bear said by how the boy responded, but it was very weird to me. I found myself rereading the story to make sure I read it correctly. I really didn't think the story had a very good plot. I didn't really understand why it was a bear that came off a blackboard in the child's room that the story was about. I just found it bizarre that the blackboard bear was a main character in the story. I thought that the book didn't really fit together that well and that it was just a unusual combination of characters.

Dancing in the Wings

Dancig in the Wings was written by Debbie Allen and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The story is about a young girl who gets made fun of for having huge feet. She is a dancer and all of the girls in her dancing class make rude comments to her during class. When it is time for an audition for a summer program, the young girl is nervous but takes her uncles advice to try her best and make her mark on the world. In the end, the young girl is accepted into the summer program because she had to courage to try. I really enjoyed reading this story. The way it was written made it feel so real. The dialogue was so very realistic and really seemed like something a girl her age would really say. The book was also very inspirational. The young girl dreamed of dancing on the milky way. This to me was a symbol of her spreading her wings to fly, to reach her dream. While reading this I just really felt like this story was true, like it really happened to someone. I loved the detail that the story had. Debbie Allen did an amazing job of using descriptive words that really helped me to paint a great picture in my head. I would definately recommend this story to everyone!

Anno's Alphabet

Anno's Alphabet is written an illustrated by Mitsumasa Anno. The story has no words, just pictures to accompany the letters of the alphabet. There was a different letter and picture on each page. I was a little confused about the book. I felt like the pictures and chosen symbol were somewhat centered around wood. All of the letters were made out of wood and at the beginning of the book in the pages before it started, there are a few pictures of different objects made out of wood such as a book and a hatchet in a wood stump. However, not all the pictures were made out of wood. For example, K stood for kangeroo and L stood for lock. I'm just not really quite sure why this is a theme on many of the pages and not on others. On each page there is a black and white border of vines of tree branches and flowers. Again this shows that wood is a theme in the story. I just felt really confused while reading the story and it felt very old fashioned to me for it won awards in the 1970's. This is just not a book I would want to use to work with children on their letters. There was also even a couple pictures I didn't know what they were, so I'm sure it would be challenging for children.

The Bravest of Us All

The Bravest of Us All was written by Marsha Arnold and illustrated by Brad Sneed. It is about a young girl named Velma Jean who isn't afraid of anything and all of her siblings admire her bravery. One day a tornado comes and everyone finds out that Velma is afraid of the storm cellar. When her younger sister comes to rescue her she tells her it is going to be ok and they go to the storm cellar together. The book is set in the past and the children in the story talk with an ol' country accent. They also have older names such as Velma Jean and Ruby Jane. I think this really sets up the setting for the story. I also think the story had an underlying message. The more obvious message was that everyone is afraid of something and it is ok to admit it. However, the underlying message in the story was about family and the love the sisters had for eachother. I really enjoyed the story. It was very warm and touching. It reminded me of my sisters in general and how we are so different, but we are always there for each other if we need anything at all. I would do anything for my sisters and this is how I thought the two sisters in the story felt about each other.

One Smart Cookie

One Smart Cookie is written and illustrated by John Nez. It is about a girl who doesn't like to read, but her dog can read. She takes him to school and everyone thinks he is amazing. He saves the day because he shows the girl that there is a fire in the school and the girl has to read the emergency directions to save everyone. She finally learns how important reading is and begins to read more often. While I was reading this book I thought it might be a good book to read to a young reader who doesn't seem to like reading. It may motivate them to become a better reader. However one time in the book the kids at school don't believe the dog can read and they call the dog and the girl dumb. I didn't really think this was necessary to add this into the story, it may give kids the wrong idea that if they don't read a lot or if they are not a very good reader that they are dumb. I wouldn't want to give kids the wrong idea. I did think the book was cute and think the aspect of a dog being able to read to show how important reading is would be fun for kids.

Ugly Fish

This book was written by Kara LaReau and illustrated by Scott Magoon. The book is about Ugly Fish who lives in the tank and whenever a new nice fish comes in he eats them. Then he gets lonely because he has no friends so when the last fish comes in he is bigger than Ugly Fish so he eats him. This was a really wierd book to me. It is wierd a childrens book would have fish eating eachother for no reason. I think the lesson in the book is to treat others how you want to be treated, but I wasn't quite sure. The only way I felt I connected with the book was that it reminded me of all the goldfish we got when I was younger and for some reason they would all die within a few weeks and we were never sure why!?!

The Class Artist

The Class ARtist was written and illistrated by G. Brian Karas. It is about a young boy who doesn't think that he is a very good drawer. A girl in his class makes fun of his drawing and he has no confidence. In the end he draws a beautiful mural and this begins his journey as the class artist. The book teaches lessons of how you shouldn't make fun of people and how you should always believe in yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to. The story also includes the days of the week which is a good thing to incorporate for kids. The story actually reminds me of myself. I am in an arts methods course and we had to draw a portriat of someone. I didn't think I could do it because I don't have a lot of confidence in my drawing. My roomates made fun of my attempts at drawing stick figures. In the end, my portriat turned out to be the best drawing I have ever done and my roomates were all impressed. It was a really good feeling.

My Mother's Secret Life

My Mother's Secret Life was written and illustrated by Rebecca Emberley. I picked the book off of the shelf because I thought it had an interesting title. I however, did not really like the book. I was really confused if the girl in the book was dreaming she was at the circus or if she pretended because at the end she woke up and it said her mother's breath smelled a little like popcorn. I was just really confused during the book it seemed like it kind of skipped around I wasn't sure about different things that were going on in the story. I did think the pictures were interesting. They reminded me of the I Spy books and I felt like the pictures wre almost popping out at me.

My Apron

I chose My Apron because it was written and illustrated by one of my favorite authors Eric Carle. I absolutely love the illustrations in his stories. They are somewhat child like and the look like fingerpaint and it just reminds me of being a kid and fingerpainting with my mom. The illustrations make me feel like a kid again, so young, fun, and innocent. The story is about a young man who wants to be a plasterer like his uncle so his aunt makes him an apron with a pocket in the from and he helps his uncle do his job. It was very interesting to me because my parents are redoing their house and my uncle just did the plastering for them. It reminded me of my uncle and how he loves the job he does. The book made me think about all the things I wanted to be when I was growing up like a teacher, doctor, and professional basketball player. It is fun to think about all of the dreams children have when they are younger.

Madeline's Rescue

Madeline's Rescue was written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans. I actually really did not like this book. I thought it was really hard to follow and I didn't always know what was going on. It did rhyme which I usually like, but some of they rhymes didn't quite sound right and it was just hard for me to understand what was going on all of the time. The pictures were kind of interesting and they look like they are painted in a really interesting way. I just really couldn't connect with this book because it was really hard to follow.

I Heard Said the Bird

I Heard Said the Bird is written by Polly Berrien Berends and illustrated by Brad Sheed. It is about a whole bunch of barnyard animals hear from the bird that there is going to be a "new one" and they are trying to figure out which animal is going to be having the new baby. At the end it is a new born baby that the little boy in the house shows all of the animals. The book is fun because it says a rhyming part over and over and kids would be able to remember what it says. It says I heard said the bird, how siad the cow, when said the hen, where said the mare, in the house said the mouse. The book builds up excitement and you can wait to see who it is at the end. The pictures of the animals are close up. My grandparents live on a farm and it really reminded me of when I was younger and got to go play with and feed all of the animals there.

The Mine-O-Saur

The Mine-O-Saur was written by Sudipta Bardhan Quallen and illustrated by David Clark. The story is about a dinosaur that is very selfish and doesn't ever share with his friends. He realizes that he has no friends because of this and the importance of sharing and friendship. The book teaches a really good lesson about why it is important to not be selfish. It is funny because he always say MINE MINE MINE and makes it so realistic to me. The book really reminded me of a couple children at the daycare I work at. There are always those kids who don't like to share and mine mine mine is exactly what they say. It is fun for kids that the characters in the book are dinosaurs and the illistrations are really cool because they do a great job of portraying the dinosarus feelings and emotions with their facial expressions.

Year Of Impossible Goodbyes

Year Of Impossible Goodbyes wasn't a book I really enjoyed reading. I thought it started out really slow and I couldn't really get into it. However, I felt bad for the grandfather in the book. It was sad how he could be considered a scholar at one point but then have that totally change because of his background. I thought it was really interesting to compare the two different books. I felt bad for both of the children in the families. I was thinking in class when we had our group discussion that it wasn't fair for people to not feel bad for these kids. It may be true that Japan did terrible things to Koreo and that is why people don't feel bad for them, but think of the children. They didn't have any say in what was going on between the countries and they still had to go through such hard situations. I can't imagine seeing the things those kids saw and having to do the things they did. I can't help but feel sorry for all of them.

Hey, Al

Hey, Al was written by ARthur Yorinks and illustrated by Richard Egielski. It is about a janitor and his dog who live a tough life with little money. One day a bird comes and takes them to a paradise island. They love it and decide to stay there until they start to turn into birds. They decide they would rather live at home and struggle than be birds and they finally get to go back home. This book teaches a wonderful lesson. The very last sentence of the story is ,"Paradise lost is sometimes Heaven found." I thought it was very touching. The book really makes you think about the things you have in life and may take for granted. I know everyday I could probably think about something that I WANT. Instead I should realize what I have and how lucky I am. I feel I am a very lucky person who has a lot to be thankful for. After I read this book I took a few minutes to sit back and think about all of the things I am thankful for and lucky to have. It is a really good feeling. This book brought with it a lot of emotions. The illustrations were also very colorful and fun, especially when they were on the island. I noticed how plainly colored the pictures were when the man and his dog were at home compared to the island to contrast the difference.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? is written and illustrated by who other than Dr. Suess. It was all about the different sounds Mr. Brown can make . Some were real sounds and some were made up sounds that he thought it would sound like. For example, a hippo chewing gum. The whole time I was reading this I was thinking about the children at my daycare and how much they would enjoy hearing and making the sounds. I was also painting a good visual in my head. I was trying to figure out what it really might sound like if a hippo was chewing gum or if goldfish kissed. I loved the pictures of course. They were very vibrant and colorful. I really noticed how much Dr. Suess uses lines in his drawings. As I looked at the pictures they reminded me of the Dr. Suess book where the red lines get stuck all over they house. I also enjoyed the different creatures in the book in some of the pictures, even Mr. Brown is an interesting character to look at.

Sammy The Classroom Guinea Pig

Sammy The Classroom Guinea Pig was written and illustrated by Alix Berenzy. I initially picked this book off the shelf because my sisters nickname is Sammy and it caught my eye. It is about a classroom Guinea Pig who randomly starts squealing during class. The class tries to diagnose him and while they do this they offer a lot of interesting facts about guinea pigs in general. In the end the guinea pig just wanted attention from the children, his friends. I thought it was really cool how the author included facts about the guinea pig within the story. Right away it reminded me of my kindergarten class because we had a guinea pig as a class pet and we all got to take turns taking care of it by feeding it and cleaning it's cage. I have been thinking about when I'm a teacher if I would want to have a class pet in the room. This book helped confirm my decision that having a class pet would bring responsibility to the children and it would just be FUN!

Sally and the Purple Socks

Sally and the Purple Socks was written and illustrated by Lisze Bechtold. I picked this book off of the shelf because the cover and title made me think it would be a funny book, which it was. Sally sock that she ordered are to small but then they start to grow and grow and grow and Sally finds fun things to do with her new socks such as curtians and carpet. For some reason the book reminded me of the Dr. Suess book where the red spots keep spreading all around the house. I think that young children would definately find this book funny. I found myself excited to see what Sally was going to use her sock for next. There are only a few different colors in the story which I feel really draws your attention to the purple socks. At the the socks get wet and shrink back to normal just in time for winter. I found myself guessing what the socks were going to be used for next and I think this would be a fun activity for kids to do also.

My Brother

Mh browther was written and illustrated by Anthony Brown. It is about a little boy that thinks his big brother is so COOL! Everypage has arrows pointing at different things saying cool this and cool that. It's funny because I feel like it is written how a child would talk. It seems like such a realistic book because so many little brothers think everything that their big brother does is so cool. I feel like older siblings don't always realize how much their little brothes and sisters look up to them. I don't think I realized how much my younger brothers and sisters looked up to me until I was a lot older. The story sounded like a child would talk, but it alway was illustrated very chidllike and very animated. My favorite part of the book was a real picture on the author page of a young boy with his two front missing, no shirt on, and a big huge grin. Right away I new this was a true story of how a younger brother felt about his bigger brother when he was a kid.

Llama Llama Mad At Mama

Llama Llama Mad at Mama was written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney. I heard someone say this was their favorite chidrens book in one of my classes and I thought I better check it out. For one, it rhymed and I just love books that rhyme. I also thought it was very cute. It is about a llama who has to go shopping with his mother and throws a fit because a he doesn't want to be there and doesn't like shopping. It reminded me of little walking through a store and seeing a small chld having a temper tantrum. It is always so funny and you just feel so bad for the parents. I loved that the book was about llama's. I mean how often do you read a childrens book where llama's are the main characters. I think this is the most fun part about the book. The llama in the story also has funny facial expressions to go along with his feelings. If I had kids, I would read this to them before we went shopping and tell them to make sure to not act like the little llama in the story. The ends and shows how much the mother and son llama's love eachother. I like how the mama doesn't ever get mad at the little llama for throwing a fit. Doesn't seem very typical... but yet seems like such a good mother!!

Pulling My Leg

Pulling My leg is written by Jo Carson with pictures by Julie Downing. I actually didn't really like the story. I thought it was going to talk about how pulling your leg can be a metaphor. I work at a daycare and there are times I will say things like this and the children will just look at me so confused. The story was kind of about this, but it never really said what "pulling my leg" meant. I think if a child was reading this and didn't know what it meant before they read it, they still wouldn't know afterwards. Also, there were a couple places in the book that I actually didn't understand. It randomly talked about a black snake and I wasn't sure if that meant a real snake or some type of tool or what. I guess I just feel if the book was confusing to me it would be confusing to a young child also. I did like how the book was about getting a loose tooth pulled out. It is always fun to joke around with children about them getting their teeth pulled out. I also liked the pictures in the story. They looked like someone drew them with colored pencil and I really liked this.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove

While I was reading So Far From The Bamboo Grove I found myself painting so many mental images in my head. I thought it was a very detailed book. I found the book to be really sad. It is so hard to believe that this kind of stuff went on in the world. At one point in the book I was picturing myself as one of the Korean soldiers. I can't imagine having enough hate to do the things they did. It reminds me of the soldiers that are fighting for our country today and makes me wonder how they are doing and what kinds of things they have to got through. I was a little confused about the situation that was going on in the story. I would have like more information about why there was so much fighting that to me, seemed so abrupt. I just felt like I needed a little more background to fully understand the situation and what was going on. I loved that the story ended with all of the kids being reunited. The story had such a sad theme to it, it was nice to have a bit of happiness in the last part of the book. Yoko was just so young in the story it is so hard to imagine a child today going through something like this. It makes me feel really lucky and priveledged. I think about how long they had to go without eating and it seems unimaginable. The mental picture that I can't get out of my head is the part of the story where their train gets stopped and they have to hide their identity. I can't imagine how scared they had to be.

White Wash

White Wash was written by Ntozake Shange and illustrated by Michael Sporn. It is about a colored girl and her brother who walked home from school one day and got jumped by a white gang of boys. They beat up her brother and put white spray paint on her face. I thought the story was very sad and I felt bad for the two children while reading it. I can not imagine this type of thing ever happening, but I know it does or has happen to people. I definately think this book is on the controversial shelf because of the stereotypes it portrays. The people gang that beat up the two children was a bunch of white boys. I feel this is a very typical stereotype, but it definately is one. I thought the book brought a lot of emotion. I think it may be a hard book for children to understand. If a very young child was reading this I don't think they would understand where the hate came from. I feel you would have to be old enough to understand the types of feeling some people of different races have against eachother. It would be hard to make children understand why and how people can be so cruel to eachother.

Arlene Sardine

Arlene Sardine is the story about how a sardine goes from living in the in the water to being put in a can and ready for sale. While I was reading this I was thinking why would anyone want to write about the life cycle of a sardine. However, I found it very interesting while I was reading it. There were a lot of vocabulary words I didn't know before I read it. Also, when I really thought about it I didn't have any clue how a sardine went from swimming in the water to being canned. I feel this book is labeled as controversial because to children it may seem cruel that we take the fish out of the water and kill them, but the book makes the fish dying seem like it is ok. The language in the book is somewhat poetic, which I think is very interesting since it is about the life cycle of sardines. I think this is what really makes the book so optimistic. The illustrations in the story were like watercolor paintings and I really liked them, especially the pages where there are tons of fish!

The Misfits

Wow! What an amazing book. I didn't want to put it down while reading it. I think this is such a great book to have at libraries for young kids to read. Junior high is such a tough time for kids. They go through so many different changes and along the way try to discover who they really are as people. The Misfits really shows many of the different stereotypes of children and I feel it portrays them so well. As I was reading this I thought back to my junior high years and was thinking about some of the different stereotypes of people my class included. I thought of times I remember that they were made fun of. I also think of different names I was called throught junior high and even high school. I was kind of a push-over in high school and if I was made fun of or called a name I would just laugh if off or ignore it. However, I remember how it hurt and I think I will always remember it. I also remember calling people names or making fun of them. I wasn't the bully type by any means, but I remember talking about other people behind their backs, even my friends. It's so sad to look back and think about. I think it would be cool if junior high kids could read this book or even high schoolers. It has such a strong message. I really liked the descriptive language in the book. James Howe used so many different metaphors that made his writing truly unique. I also liked how their was dialogue in the story. It really helped paint a clearer picture of the characters and who they were as people. In the end the No-Name Party didn't end up winning the elections, but I feel they truly did win because they accomplished what they had set out to do. I think this is also a message that you can take away from the story. I feel the story can help you to look at people in a different way. When Bobby told his class he ate peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwhiches because his mom liked them and she had passed away, it really took me by surprise. It definately showed how wrong people can be when they judge others. I thought this was such a good book and I would definately recommend it to everyone!

Reflection

I have really enjoyed blogging about the children's books I have read. I think it is so much more enjoyable than writing about them in a journal. I can not believe how much fun I am having reading children's books. I forgot how much I enjoy reading for fun. I feel like I never have time to just read for myself and this is the perfect class to fix this problem. Sometimes I read more books than I have to just because I get caught up in the moment. I am glad we did the genre presentation because I have a much better understanding of what the different genres are and how they could be used in the classroom. I also enjoy disscussing some of the books we read in class because people have such a variety of opinions.

Walter the Farting Dog

Walter the Farting Dog was written by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray. It was illustrated by Audrey Colman. The book is about a family who gets a dog with gas so awful they have to take him back to the pound. In the end, he scares burglers away with his gas and becomes the family hero. I thought this book was really funny. It is one of a kind, I'm sure their aren't to many books about dogs with really bad gas. While I was reading, I was thinking it was so funny that someone could write so much about a farting dog, but the story line was very well written. I really enjoyed the illustrations in the story. The characters seemed so animated and very colorful. I also like the illustration of the acual farts that the dog was letting out. I have read this book to the kids at my daycare and they all think that it is very funny. The pictures that show how disguisted the peolpe are by the smell of the dog are quite comical.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is a very touching story about a young girl who wants to be Peter Pan in the school play. She is told she can not be Peter Pan because she is a girl and she is black. With the help of her nana, Grace learns that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. In the end, Grace gets the part and does an excellent job. I thought this story was absolutely beautiful. I loved how in the beginning it told how Grace loved stories and acting out the stories. This really showed her creativity. Each story that she liked was so different and imaginative. I loved the overall message of the book that was that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. This is such a great motivational story. Also, children really might think the way they do in the story and feel that Peter Pan must be played by a white male. I think the pictures in this book are great. They look like some type of watercolor and are so colorful.

Milo's Hat Trick

Milo's had trick was written and illustrated by Jon Agee. I thought this book was really funny. It is about a man who does hat tricks with a bear at his magic show. This book is very funny. When Milo looses his hat with the bear in it and the bear pops out of his hat with a random man at a resturaunt, I even laughed out loud a little bit. The book isn't predictable and that is what I liked about it. The pictures in the book were very interesting. They were simple sketches with lots of color. One thing I noticed about the illustrations were that none of the people in the pictures had eyeballs. They had a place for their eyes, but they were just white circles. I didn't think that it made the people look bad, but I thought it was kind of different and wondered why the illustrator made this choice. I think this would be a fun book to show kids. I feel it would make them laugh and learn a little bit about magic at the same time!

Twister

Twister was written by Darleen Bailey Beard and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. I liked this book because it seemed so real to me. It told about a family who was caught up in a twister and had to hide in their storm cellar. The author did an amazing job of using descriptive words. She describes scenes in such detail that you are able to paint amazing pictures in your head. Her word choice is also very descriptive and makes the story very enjoyable. I noticed she used a lot of sound words. Instead of describing the sounds in the story she actually wrote them and I thought this was really neat. I thought there was a lot of emotion in the story. It made me feel really sorry for the family in the story and also very scared. The illustrations looked like colorful sketches. They were different from most picture books and I thought they were very pretty. The book is more about family,friends, and feelings than about twisters, but it does a nice job of describing what it would be like to be caught up in a twister.

Arthur's Eyes

I couldn't pass up an Arthur book as I roamed the shelves at the library. Arthur used to be my favorite show on t.v., so it was fun to read a book about him. Marc Brown is the author and illustrator for these books. I like them becuase most of the Arthur books teach a lesson or talk about an issue most children will come accross. This book tells about how Arthur needs glasses. When he gets them, everyone makes fun of him. In the end, Arthur sees how it is important to wear his glasses and his friends envy his new glasses. It was a kind of wierd when looking at the pictures in the book, because I used to watch the t.v. show so much and the characters look very similiar, but not really the same as the show. This didn't distract me from the text, but I definately found myself looking at the characters a lot. I really do like the Arthur books. I think they are fun for kids to read becuase I feel like most people, especially children, will be able to connect to them. Also, I liked how the pages right inside the cover were pictures of glasses. It was just a fun way to introduce the story.

Love That Dog

I have never read a book like this ever. I really really enjoyed it. I felt like I could feel the character grow as a person and as a poet as the story went on. It was very captivating and I couldn't put it down. I definately think that it is a book you should read all at once. I like when the author did the repitition of the words such as wag-wag-wagging. This really stuck out to me and it added to the poem. Also when the author chose to write descriptive words in a certian ways such as writing the word thin in a thin way. I also liked the format. I'm not really sure if I quite understand the format or why it was in diary for, maybe to get a sense of time or so you could see Jack grow. The poem I thought really made you imagine and visualize a lot. The whole time I was thinking about what the poems that the boy was reacting to were like. I was so glad at the end they were shared so I could read them. I noticed the boy didn't really say his name ever until around page 60. This was a big step for him and I felt like this was a huge turning point in the story. I definately got the feeling of a rythm when I was reading. Page after page I just felt as if there was a beat that I was reading to. The story was very heartwarming to me. It was this young boy who never believed in himself and he was so very inspired by a dog that he used to have. Then he discovered this poet who truly inspired him and in the end he finally got the confidence he needed. I really liked this poem a lot. Not having read a book like this before, I was definately intrigued by the format and would enjoy reading more poems like this.

Oliver Button Is a SIssy

In quite a few of my classes in the readings I had to do the book Oliver Button Is a Sissy kept coming up. I decided I had to see what all the fuss was about. Tomie de Paola wrote the book about a boy who didn't like to do stereotypical boy things and instead he liked to dance. He got made fun of for it and got called a sissy. He showed off his dance skills at the talent show and then his classmates thought of him as a star. This book teaches a very important lesson. Never giving up is such an important thing for children to learn and this book gives such a great example. I enjoyed looking at all of the pictures in the book. The facial expressions of everyone portrayed how they felt very well. I feel this story is in so many of my classes and books I read because of the language in the book. I think it would be a really good level for a younger reader. The language was pretty simple so I feel it would be a perfect fit. I really enjoyed how the book ended. It didn't come out and tell you how the feelings of his classmates changed but it showed you. I was so proud of Oliver at the end of the story! Never giving up and believing in yourself are such good virtues for young kids to learn.

Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You was written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram. It is a book about a mom bunny and her little baby bunny telling each other how much they love eachother. This book really reminded me of when I was little and I used to hold my hands out as far as they would go and tell my mom how much I loved her. We kind of did the same things the bunnies did by trying different ways to make our love for eachother grow and grow. There were only a few colors used in the illustrations but I thought that was all that was needed because it really focused you on what the rabbits were talking about. I think this book could be read with younger kids and it would be fun for them to read with parents or loved ones. I think they would definately immitate the story. One thing that I kind of struggled with during the book were the names of the characters. There was Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare. I kept having to read the names over again and for some reason, I don't know why, the Nutbrown name just threw me off. Overall, I thought this was a very special book and it would be one that I would want to share with kids that I love.

Olivia Saves the Circus

I thought Olivia Saves the Circus was an excellent book. Ian Falconer did such a great job making the book funny and unique and the illustrations were definately one of a kind. The book tells about how Olivia tells a fib to her classmates about how the circus was all sick with ear infections so she had to take over. I found myself smiling a lot during the book. It is just really cute and really well written. The pictures are really interesting because they are in black and white and then certian things are in color. They really catch your attention. I liked how one of the pages folded all the way out. This is a really fun feature for kids... and me! Right when you open the book there are small pictures of Olivia doing different things and I thought they added to the book. I think the author did a great job of creating the character of Olivia. She seems like a very special little pig. The storyline of the book was really cool because Olivia had to do all of the things that go on in the circus all by herself!!! One thing I could not understand was the picture above Olivia's bed in the book. It is a grandma waving her hands in the air. I thought it was very very random and I tried for quite a while to figure out what is was.

Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry

This book was written towards children who's parents suffer from a mental illness. The little girl's mother in the story is very nice to her and they have a good time together before school, but after school she is mean and yells at her and doesn't spend any time with her. I didn't really like this book. I can see where the author is coming from in addressing a hard topic like this one, but I just thought it was a little hard to understand. Some of the wording was a lilttle confusing and I just didn't really like the way that the topic was addressed. I feel that the book didn't really help the girl in the book, it just told her story. I think the book could have shown the situation a little better. I was thinking that if I knew a child that was in a similiar situation I would not read them this book. I just don't think it would really help them cope with the situation. Other than the little girl's grandma telling her to think happy thoughts, it didn't really help the girl and her situation. I don't think it told enough about the situation and I found myself wanting to know more. When I first read the book I didn't see the informative page that told that the mother had a mental illness, so when I read the book I really had no idea what was going on. I think that the informative page needed to be a little more obvious.

Stellaluna

Stellaluna is a very heartwarming book. It's about a bat that gets lost from her mother and ends up living with a family of little birds. She even starts acting like the birds. After doing all of the goofy things that the birds do, she is reunited with her mother. In the end the story is about friendship. This story reminded me of how I have some really good friends who I am exactly alike and some who I am completly different from. This story was a really good example of how people can look and even act totally different but still be reallly close friends. Janell Cannon was the author and illustrator for this book. I think the pictures in the book are really simple, yet fun to look at. I would probably scream if I ever saw a real bat, but the whole time I was thinking about how cute the bat on the cover and the pages was. The birds were very accepting of the bat and I think this is a really important virtue that the book shows.

Soccer

Soccer is a guide for being a soccer player. It includes skills and drills, an overview with rules, and a "Putting it All Together" section. I think if you were a person who had never played soccer before, this would be a great way to start. I used to play soccer all the time, so it was a little different from my point of view. Even though I know how to play soccer, the skills and drills section of the book gave many different drills for things you can work on as a soccer player and some of these were beneficial to me. The pictures were also a great visual representation of the text. I thought the book was really long, but if you didn't know how to play, you would need all of these differnt categories of the game to be taught to you and I think the book did a nice job describing and showing them.

Rainforests

Rainforests is a book that tells a child all they need to know about the rainforest. Some of the things talked about in this book include climate, different types and layers of the rainforest, Indigenous peoples, etc. It includes many pictures of the rainforest, animals, and other helpful visuals. I thought the book was very informational for a younger child. It made me think of a report I did on the rainforests when I was younger... I wish I had this book to use while writing it! The pictures are very good visual aids for the text. Some of the things that the book talks about such as the layers of the rainforest might be kind of hard to understand without the pictures. All of the pictures are real pictures of the rainforest and animals in the rainforest.

Team Moon

Team moon tells about how 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon. Not only did the astronauts land on the moon, but it took the help of 400,00 others who worked in the control rooms and in the engineering departments to help this mission be a success. The book tells about all of the different difficulties the team faced when trying to land the Apollo 11 on the moon. In the text it includes details and facts from this amazing adventure, but also different things the astronauts in the spacecraft thought and said to eachother. I really liked reading this book becasue I had never really studied or learned about the Apollo 11 mission. I knew we had landed on the moon, but that is all I really knew about the situation. Reading this book really opened my mind to what really went on.

The most amazing part of the whole book are the pictures. I looked through the book numerous times admiring them. The picures are real photos from the mission. There were pictures on the astronauts, the beautiful moon, the earth at different distances, and

Move!

Move! is a really fun way to learn about all the different ways in which animals move. The books is filled with different animls and shows how some move in the same way and some move in different. Some of the different ways include waddle, slide, float, dance, run, and fly. I thought the illustrations were a big part of the book. Each animals was drawn in a very eye catching way. I read the book twice and the second time I just looked at the pictures. I also liked the ways the words were written on the pages. Sometimes they curved around the animals or climed up the page. I think this is something that attracts kids because it is not just straight accross and it is something different for them. At the end of the book there is a small paragraph about each of the different animals that the book talked about. I really enjoyed reading these especially when the paragraph contained a really fun or interesting fact about the animal. I would definately recommend this book. The excellent pictures along with the interesting way the text was written and the fun facts at the end made it a very appealing book.

Oh, Rats!

Oh Rats! is a book that definately caught my eye. I, like many other people would scream as lound as I could and jump to the highest spot in the room the instant I saw a rat. They are definately an animal with an extremely bad stereotype. After reading this book I definately have a much softer side for the animal.

The book begins by telling about a young boy who was deathly afraid of rats and his father told him they are not a bad animal and he should learn about them...so he did. The book has many interesting facts about the animal. The facts are told in a way that they are intersting to read. They were very easy to understand. The book seemed a little lengthy because there was a lot of text, but there were little boxes on every other page that told about a specific species of rat or interesting rat detail that I always looked forward to. For example, one box told about a rat that lived long ago that was the size of a small rhinoceros! The pictures in the book were simple, but definately needed to keep my interest. If your one of those people who would let out a high pitched yell if you saw this rodent...read Oh Rats! and give rats a chance.

Gone Wild

In this book David Mclimans shows an interesting way to learn your ABC's. Each page gives a letter, and next to the letter there is the name of an animal that is an endangered species. A big letter is shown on each page and the letter is shaped in the shape of the animal it is representing. This was really fun for me to look at. It was interesting to look at the drawings because they were all drawn simply in black and white yet they were so detailed and unique. I found myself looking at the letter and trying to guess what animal it was going to stand for before I read the actual name of the animal above.

The book also told a little bit about endangered species before it started with the alphabet and I thought this was a good choice because it really got me focused on what the book was going to be about. On each page the book told the animals class, habitat, range, threats, and status. Since the pictures were in black and white I used my imagination to picture what the animals would look like in color and also in it's habitat. It was a fun way to use my imagination and also learn more about endangered animals I had never heard about. I think this book is especially cool because it can be used for all different ages. If your looking for a fun way to learn your ABC's....Gone Wild is an excellent choice.

George's Marvelous Medicine

George's Marvelous Medicine is an amazing book by one of my favorite authors, Roald Dahl. George has to stay home with his grouchy grandma who is not very nice to him. Instead of giving her her normal medicine at 11:00 he concocts his own medicine. This new medicine does some crazy things to grandma and the farm animals George gives it to.

Roald Dahl is a very talented author. I think this book would be perfect for children who are just getting to the age to read chapter books. It is a pretty easy read for children and I think they would find it quite funny. I actually found the book quite interesting. It is the kind of book that you don't want to put down because you just want to see what is going to happen next. Along with the text the author also adds pictures to the story. The pictures are very simple, but also detailed at the same time. I think this is a really cool part of the book because not all chapter books include pictures and they style of the pictures was really different and unique. Also, the pictures are very humerous as they show all of the different things things that happen when George gives out his medicine. This book was really fun to read and brought back a lot of childhood memories of reading it.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

The Hello Goodbye Window, is a book filled with amazing pictures that give you a very heartwarming feeling. Norton Juster wrote about a special window this little girls likes at her grandparents house. The story talks about all of the fun things that she likes to do when she spends time with her grandma and grandpa. The window, I feel, is symbolic for being able to look in on the time the child spends with her grandparents. They are very special to her and she talks about all of the fun memories she has with them. The book reminded me of all of the fun things I used to do when I would spend a week at my grandparents in the summers. It brought back lots of fun memories.
Chris Raschka does such a wonderful job with the illustrations in this book. They actually look like they could have been watercolored on by a child. They really brought out the concept of childhood and the memories that the young girl had. I read the book and then went back just to look at the pictures. They are so very beautiful and quite unique.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

I read this book a few times and was blown away. It is an absolutely beatifully written lyrical book with illistrations that truly touched me. Phileppe Petit performed juggling and tightrope walking in a New York City park. One day he looked up at the twin towers and On August 7, 1974, with the help of a few of his friends, he secured a tightrope between the towers, a quarter of a mile high in the sky. When the sun rose in the morning, the young man walked out onto the rope and performed for hours.
This book truly touched me in many ways. Mordicai Gerstein is the author and illustrator of the story and just does an amazing job. His book has many different features that make it unique. It is written in a beautiful lyrical form. I feel that sometimes the author uses some symbolic phrases about being free and believing. On some of the pages there are a few different pictures on the page. I loved how some of the pages folded out into a few pages put together to show how high he was up on the tower. The pictures were drawn so well I actually felt like I was high in the air with Phileppe. I had never heard of this before so I was shocked when I read the book. I can not believe someone would do such a thing. A part in the book that really touched me was a page at the end of the book that simply read, "Now the towers are gone." I read that page over and over. I thought this book was just wonderful and I recommend it to everyone! It's definately one of my new favorites and I can't wait to read more stories by this author.

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

When walking through the library I could hardly pass up the Dr. Seuss section. You can never go wrong when you choose on of his books. "And to Think That I Say It on Mulberry Street," is a book that is full of imagination. It starts off with a boy who sees a horse and wagon on Mulberry Street on his way home. As he keeps walking his imagination flows and he begins adding different things to his story of just seeing a horse and wagon such as having an elephant pull a brass band instead. As his imagination soars, his story becomes more and more extravagant!
I absolutely love books that rhyme so I of course adore Dr. Seuss books. This story is extremely creative and you never know whats coming next. It is really fun and makes you excited to see what's coming next. It would be an awesome book to show kids how they can use their own imaginations and creativity.

Officer Buckle and Gloria

Officer Buckle and Gloria is a really funny book for children to read. It was written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. Nobody listens to officer Buckle when he shares all of his saftey tips, until he gets a dog Gloria who does funny things during the speaches to demonstrate the saftey tips, however, Officer Buckle does see her doing this. When he finds out he becomes upset but finally realizes he needs Gloria so that the children listen and they become best buddies.
I read this book a couple times because there are lots of little details I didn't take time to notice the first time I read the book. On the inside cover it shows lots of Officer Buckle's saftey tips with Gloria acting them out. When some of the students write letters to the Officer and his dog it shows a lot of the letters and you are able to read some of them. Also, there is just a lot of detail in the book that I feel deserves a little extra time to appreciate. The book is full of good saftely lesson and also incorporates humor with the actions the dog makes. I think children would really like reading this book. I think it would really appeal to children who know how to read so they could appreciate all the detailed writing in the book.

Don't Be Silly, Mrs. Millie!

Don't Be Silly Mrs. Millie is a great book that would be silly and fun for younger children. I feel like it would suit kids in younger grades best. The book was written by Judy Cox and is about a kindergarten class who finds thier teacher to be quite funny. Mrs. Millie always uses animal names for things that she says. For example, she tells the children they are having gorilla cheese sandwhiches for lunch instead of grilled cheese sandwhiches. Joe Mathieu does an excellent job of making the pictures in the book very detailed and humerous.
This book seemed like it was a pretty easy read and would be a good book for a child learning how to read, especially since they could use context clues to help them decode the text if they are having trouble. I also think it would be fun to think of some more interesting phrases that you could replace with animal names and use them in the classroom after you read the book. I definately think a class of younger students would think it was funny...They might even say, "Don't be silly Ms. McGee!"

Things That Are Most in the World

I really enjoyed reading this book. Judi Barrett does a great job of finding out all the crazy things in the world. Some examples in the book include, "The oddest thing in the world is an ant windsurfing in a bowl of pea soup," or "The teensie-weensiest thing in the world is a newborn flea." The book kind of reminded me of the story, " Chimps Don't Wear Glasses." I found the book really intriguing myself, so I'm sure it would be very enjoyable for children. The pictures are what really made the book. John Nickle did such a great job making the pictures colorful and humorous.

While I was reading the book I was thinking what other categories there could be for things that are most in the world. I think it would be really fun to create my own page for the book. This would be an excellent project for children. It would let their imaginations run free and I'm posotive they would come up with some crazy funny things after having read "Things That Are Most in the World."

Alien for Rent

While volunteering with a third grade class a young girl was reading this book and thought it was quite funny so I decided I would give it a shot. When Lexie and J.P. see a sign on the bulliten board saying, "Alien for Rent," they go outside under the tree to where this magical creature says he would like to meet. When they encounter the little green alien and think he's kind of cute. The alien wants to help the two friends so he makes the school bully who has been picking on them act like a baby. Even though J.P. and Lexie don't care for Bruce the bully they do everything they can to get the alien to turn him back to normal.

I think there are many different spots in the book that a child would find humerous. When Bruce is turned into a baby he does lots of goofy things. In a way, this book teaches a little lesson about bullies, but also about being a good person. Even though J.P. and Lexie don't care for Bruce they try there hardest to help him.

The book made me think about having a magical friend when I was younger and what I would do if I had a magical pet alien. The book was written for children ages seven to ten and I definately think that a child this age would find this book quite funny. I think it would get a child's imagination flowing.

Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy?

This book definately caught my attention on the shelf. It made me think about what I would say to a child if they asked me about the Tooth Fairy or Santa Clause. This book is really interesting because it answers the question of whether or not these characters/people are real and it does it in a way in which it does not lie to the child. The story tells how long ago, many creatures such as dinosaurs, unicorns, wizards, and fairies roamed the earth. Each of the creatures wanted to control the world and as the did this, the magical creatures started to dissapear. In the end, the child has to decide what he wants to believe and of course chooses to believe in the fun, money giving Tooth Fairy.

This book had wonderful illistrations of all the magical creatures. I liked it because it is a story that leaves kids still believing in the end without lying to them. I brought me back to when I was younger and believed in all of these magical things. It made me feel like anything can be real as long as you believe in it. It really makes you use your imagination, especially with the ideas the pictures put into your head. It made me want to believe in all of these fun fantacies all over again!

Two Moms, The Zark, and Me

This was a book that i randomly just grabbed from the shelf and checked out. The book was very interesting to me and really got me thinking. It is about a little boy who has two mothers. When he gets lost from his parents he asks a man for help finding his moms. The man tells the boy it is wrong to have two mothers and he will help him find another family. The story really touched me when I read it. It made me think about all of the different types of families that I could possibly have in my classroom someday.
I think there are many lessons that could be taught from this book. You could definately use the book as a way to show how many families are different. It is important for children to be aware of all of the different types of families and to realize that everyone should be accepted. You could also use the book to show how not accepting others may make them feel. When the man told the boy that it was wrong and a sin for his family to be different the boy was sad and upset, but he does not feel ashamed of his family by any means.
This book could definately be a posotive way to teach kids about how all families are different. There are lots of different emotions in the book and the illustrations help to portray these emotions very well. The book all rhymes too...MY FAVORITE!!

Where the Wild Things Are

I recently got the chance to revisit one of my favorite childhood books ever, Where the Wild Things Are. I find this book just as good every single time I read it. Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated the book. The pictures are something I have always really enjoyed about the story. Even though the monsters in the book are supposed to be scary at one point, roaring their terrible roars and gnashing their terrible teeth, I never really find the monsters scary. However I feel this is definately a book that needs to be read with lots of expression. I think if you make your voice scary the monsters will seem scary. Also there are a few pages where the monsters are having a rumpus-dancing and just having fun. I remember when I was little and this book was read to me by my parents we would always act goofy during these pages and pretend we were the monsters ourselves.

This story is all about imagination. The young boy Max is imagining the whole story in his head, yet it seems to real to the reader. The book really does bring out the readers inner child. It is one of the BEST books and everyone should get the chance to read it!

George Hogglesberry Grade School Alien

It is never easy being the "new kid in school." Sarah Wilson does an excellent job of describing some of the difficulties a child might feel when going to a new school for the very first time. George is very different from all of the other kids in his school. Things on his planet aren't the same as they are here on earth. The children have a hard time understanding him and think the grean beans with marshmallows that he drinks for snack are a little unusual. When it comes time for the fall play it becomes hard to find a part for George since he keeps randomly turning into various objects. George is upset but his teacher and classmates encourage him throughout the book and they find the perfect role for him by the end.

Chad Cameron does very good illustrating this children's picture book. George is from another planet so him and his family do a whole bunch of goofy things. I feel this book would definately make children laugh but also teach them what it might feel like to be a new studnet.

It shows how everyone is different from the way they speak and look to where they are from and what their family is like. It can also show how a new student might feel alone and uncomfortable with themselves when they first come to a new school. The book allows the children to see how important it is to be open and accept others the way they are.