Charlotte's Web

By: E.B. White

Illustrated by: Garth Williams

This is a classic story I was not intending on blogging about. I've read this story many times and wanted to use this class as an opportunity to explore new Kid's Lit. Then, when I thought about it, it's okay to reread books that are our favorites. There must be something good in them to make readers keep reading them throughout the years.

I recently finished reading this book aloud to my K students. Since the movie recently came out, they really wanted to start (and finish) this story. I was curious about how engaged they would or would not be. White's book of the famous pig, Wilbur, contains a plethora of rich vocabulary. Though I never did any formal lessons with vocabulary, I made sure not to skip over any words my students wouldn't know and to take a quick amount of time to ask the class what they thought the word meant and further discuss the meaning.

The main theme is the friendship between a pig and a spider. I really tried to discuss how people who are not alike in the least bit can be friends. We discussed similarities and differences and how they can be over come. We talked about each of the characters, our favorite parts, and what we didn't like. (Refer to the link on the right to read some of our book reviews of Charlotte's Web.)

Though I've read this story a few times and having reread it recently, I can see why this story is a classic. Though the death of Charlotte is sad, the ending does gives readers a feel-good sense that Wilbur is going to be okay. We all want friends like Charlotte.

The Higher Power of Lucky

By: Susan Patron

Illustrations by: Matt Phelan

I, like many others, wanted to see what all the "scrotum" hype was about. Many know this won The Newbery Medal this year and yes, it has the word scrotum on the first page. So what?? It's easy to pick apart bits and bits of a story without looking at the whole picture. I was discussing the fact that scrotum is on the first page of the recent Newbery winner with a co-worker. He said, "Well, was it really necessary to use that word? Couldn't the author have used another word instead or just have taken that part out of the story?" I said, "No!" To me, it would have changed the meaning of the story. The author stated in an interview I heard that though the book is fiction, some things are based on true stories. She didn't want to change the word. To her, using scrotum had meaning and this was her choice. (I'm not going further into this topic and say how it's crazy for books to be pulled off shelves. This is censorship at its worst!)

For me, the story of Lucky and her guardian, Brigitte started out slow. The farther I read, the more entertaining and engaging the story became. I really felt sorry for this little girl. Lucky felt like no one wanted her and she even felt like Brigitte would up and move back to France. This is very hard for someone to deal with, especially a child of Lucky's age. She wanted to find her Higher Power like the people in Smoker's Anonymous and Gambler's Anonymous and like the people in AA. At the end, she does find her higher power and there is a happy ending.

Though I'm glad I read the book to satisfy my curiosity, this is probably not a book I would reread. I couldn't really relate to the story and I know this shouldn't always matter. I just don't like it enough for a reread.

But I'll Be Back Again - An Album

By: Cynthia Rylant

This is probably my favorite of all the books I've read by Rylant. I will give her immense credit because I do believe she's a wonderful writer-fiction, poetry, autobiography. This book really allowed to me to relive parts of my own childhood. Some of the things she said about growing up and experiences she had with boys (I'm not getting into too much detail here-haha) really sparked some memories for me.

I really enjoyed her blunt honesty. When kids go through puberty, they do get hairy and she didn't beat around the bush and try to make things pretty. She said exactly what she wanted to say.

I also really liked how she mentioned her other works in this text. She would tell about an experience she had with a boy and in parentheses tell that he was the inspiration in a chapter in one of her other books. For me, I was not excited to read another book from Cynthia Rylant. On the other hand, after reading about her life, I feel like a picture has been completed. There was a puzzle with a few missing pieces. We've read her picture books and poetry and now readers, such as myself, see where she got her inspirations from and I have a different view on some of her other books. I really did not enjoy much of the poems in Waiting to Waltz. Now that I've read about some of her childhood, I feel like I have a deeper understanding and like them a little better.

This is why I love biographies so much. I like to know about the author, especially ones I'm a true fan of. I want to know about their life, experiences, hardships, and happiness. I want to know what makes them the people they are. Readers can gain so much more of an understanding and appreciation from "knowing" authors. Not all authors write biographies and this is okay. I feel like I understand the works of an author more when I feel like I understand the person.

One sentence which really struck me was on page 7 of the text. It stated, "For a child there is never a good reason for a mother to leave." This makes me think of all the children out there who do not have parents regardless of the individual circumstances. It breaks my heart to think of these things, but it is reality. It's hard for me to relate to this fact, but I know it's true. As I've said earlier in this post, Rylant says what she means and many times, it pulls at the heart strings because this was her reality.

The Magic School Bus Chapter Book - The Wild Whale Watch

By: Eva Moore

Illustrated by: John Speirs

My students love The Magic School Bus. Sometimes, on a rainy day and there's no outdoor recess, we'll watch a MSB video. I came across this informational chapter book based on the MSB series. It is not written by the original author of MSB, Joanna Cole. The characters are all the same, especially the lovable Ms. Frizzle. This is the third book in the informational series.

The students in The Friz's class embark on a magical field trip to learn about whales. What I think kids will like is that even though there are facts about whales, with the text written like it's from a notebook or textbook, there is still a storyline. The characters are involved. There is an adventure. There is dialogue.

As I just mentioned, some of the text looks like it is from a textbook. The author changed the font and framed the text to make it noticeable to students that this is different from the rest of the story. Also, while the students in Ms. Friz's class are learning during their field trip, some of the students take notes. The font is changed again (different from the textbook font) and this text looks like it's written in a piece of notebook paper.

There are many things happening during the story, but I do not believe it's too much for students to keep up with. I have not yet read a chapter book from this series to my class and am anxious to because I would like to have their opinions and responses to this type of text. If you have a class that loves MSB, one of these chapter books would be beneficial because they will learn something and be engaged at the same time. One complaint I did have with this book is that it doesn't list the other books in the series. I would think there are more since this is the third book.

What Would You Do With A Tail Like This?

Written & Illustrated by: Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

What an interesting book! This book asks readers questions as in the title of the story. On the page asking about the tails, the illustrations show up-close pictures of different animals' tails. On the next page, the illustrations show each of the animals with a description of how they use their tails. Other questions ask about animals' noses, ears, eyes, feet, and mouths. I've read this book to my students and they LOVE the pages that show just the body parts of the animals because they like to guess which animal the part belongs to. At the end of the book, the authors give a brief description of each animal in the story. The descriptions are very kid-friendly and easy to understand.

Something else that's interesting about the text is that it is written shaped like the animals. For example, after the question, "What would you do with a nose like this," the description on the next page of the alligator states, "If you're an alligator, you breathe through your nose while hiding in the water." The alligator's body is straight as a stick and the text is straight from left to right just like the alligator's body. Sometimes the reader has to turn the book side-ways to read. Very cool!

The illustrations are wonderful and very deserving of the Caldecott Medal the book won. The illustrations are cut-paper collage. The background is white throughout the entire book and this really gives focus to the animals. On the pages of the body parts illustrations, they are very big and makes the reader want to turn the page to see what part belongs to who.

This is a beautifully illustrated book which gives kid-friendly facts about wild animals. My kindergartners loved it and still want to "read" it whenever they have the chance!

Joyful Noise - Poems for Two Voices

By: Paul Fleischman

Illustrated by: Eric Beddows

WOW! Was I surprised. Initially, when I read the title and viewed the front cover, I wasn't too excited about picking this book up to read. When I read the inside flap and learned this book was about bugs, I was even more thrilled. (I'm being sarcastic in case you can't tell.) During reading, I became pleasantly amused at the different poems. I can see why this book won a Newbery Medal. I will say that since this book of poems is for two voices, I really needed that second voice as I'm sitting on my couch trying to read both parts myself. That proved to be difficult and I had to find a way to maneuver through the reading. I tried to imagine having that second reader there and this seemed to help a little.

I really never knew that reading about bugs could be so interesting and entertaining. These pests were actually given a voice! One of the most entertaining was the Water Striders piece. As the Water Striders were teaching the readers how to walk on water, they state, "But by that time our student/no matter how prudent/has usually/don't ask my why/sunk from view." I thought that was funny as well as the accompanying illustration.

Another poem which I thought had interesting lines was the Fireflies poem. It states, "Light/is the ink we use/Night/is our parchment/We're/fireflies." I enjoyed the comparison to light and paper. That gives good visual imagery. Students can relate to pens (ink) and paper.

Lastly, the Honeybees poem seemed to be less difficult to read than the others if readers did not have that second voice available. Students can really learn some facts about these insects and bugs while being exposed to poetry. This is definitely more interesting than reading facts from a textbook and this is really creative on the author's part. This collection of poems was definitely better than originally expected.

Waiting to Waltz - A Childhood

By: Cynthia Rylant

Drawings by: Stephen Gammell

I am a fan of poetry. As I've said before, I'm one of those rare students who actually enjoys the poetry unit in English classes. I, on the other hand, do not like all poetry. Just as I'm an avid reader, I don't necessarily like all the books I read. Unfortunately, this collection of poems falls into the "I-don't-like" category! What I first noticed in this collection of poems is the depressing state of Rylant's early life. There are dead animals (poor Little Short Legs), poor people, an absent father, and no one at home in the summer. Don't get me wrong, these are all realities of the world. I just did not enjoy reading about them in this form.

I do give Rylant credit for choosing to write about her life using poetry. I just did not like the poems. I really don't know what else to say. I also did not like the drawings. I would have enjoyed seeing more "clear" pictures of her close experience to the great beyond or her walking home the scared child in the thunderstorm. Though I thought the illustrations were nicely done, I would have liked "clearer" pictures. I can use my imagination which I did as I was reading. I guess I just thought that if I did 't like the text, I would have liked the pictures.

I did see the progression of age reading from the first poem to the last. I am glad they are in a chronological order.

Maybe I'll change my mind about this collection of poems during/after class discussions and I hear some of my colleagues' thoughts.

Long Night Moon

By: Cynthia Rylant

Illustrated by: Mark Siegel

I enjoyed reading this book written in poem form. It was not my very favorite or my least favorite by Rylant. First, each page consists of beautiful, dark illustrations. Readers can get a feel of the mood of the story just by looking at the front cover. You know this is going to be about night, which sometimes seems to be a very eery and scary time of day. The front cover does not convey scary or eeriness to me. It conveys a type of peace and the book is not necessarily about scary night time things. Each page is a full-page bleed drawn with charcoal. This proves to be very effective. Readers are absorbed into the night which I think the author and illustrator wants us to be. When I think about the night, things are not always clear. You can make out images when it's nighttime outside, but not everything can be seen clearly. Using charcoal instead of paint makes me feel this way about the illustrations. You can make out animals and trees and plants, but readers really have to focus on them.

Another item I noticed is that the first page that starts with the January moon has a shadow of a woman and her little baby in her arms. The rest of the story, readers can observe animals and plants, but not the woman and her baby. These two are seen again on the December moon page. The story begins and ends with the pair, almost like a full cycle, like a full year. The text states on the December moon page, "This is the faithful moon." It's reliable, similar as to how a mother is reliable and depended upon by her child.

Lastly, the text is typed in cursive. Why was this printed in cursive? We talk in class about how authors and illustrators do things for a reason. I was just wondering what this reason could have been.

Casey at the Bat - A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888

Copiously & Faithfully Illustrated by: Christopher Bing

The first thing I noticed when I opened the front cover of this story was the illustrations! No wonder this book was a Caldecott Medal winner. Readers already know before they open the book that the setting is going to be in the past. Right in the title, the date states 1888. The illustrations are done using items found during this era. First, each double-page spread looks like a newspaper during the late 1800's. The text is written at the bottom of the "newspaper" almost like a heading. The poem is written in couplets-one couplet per page until readers reach the end of the story and the couplets are split with one line on each page.

In an editorial on the inside front cover, it states, "Bing seamlessly weaves real and trompe l'oeil reproductions of artifacts, period baseball cards, tickets, advertisements, and a host of other memorabilia into the narrative to present a rich and multi-faceted panorama of a bygone era." Each page consists of some form of artifact from the 1800's right on the page covering a part of the newspaper. This really gives readers a sense of the time period and meaning and I think this is highly effective. I remember reading Casey at the Bat when I was in 5th grade from a basal reader. I remember the pictures were very bright and cheery and they had nothing to do with the time period. Though I enjoyed the poem at this time in my life, I was unfamiliar with the world in the 1800's. This version shows readers bits and pieces from this era. Readers are not actually at the game. It had already taken place and being that each illustration is in the form of a newspaper, readers get a sense they are at the game because we're reading about it.

At first, I thought the illustrations were very jumbled and there was just too much to keep track of and too much to see on each page. On the other hand, when I think about the intended audience, this version is very appropriate.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Illustrated by: Jeffrey Thompson

Many people are familiar with this famous account of Paul Revere's ride through the thirteen colonies to alert the colonists that the British were coming, written in poem form. Jeffrey Thompson took the poem and beautifully illustrated it. The illustrations are very different. I would imagine the illustrations would be very old, rustic even, to depict the setting during this time period.

These illustrations are not what I had imagined. They are not "old." The pictures remind me of a comic book almost. The characters almost look like action heroes with the thick, black lines which outline the pictures. At the end of the story, there is a page which tells how the illustrations were made. They were made with scratch board, computer images, black and white imaging with some pictures having 80 layers. All pictures are framed with some being a full-page bleed in a frame. Every other picture is a full-page bleed and I'm not really sure why the illustrator did this. I was trying to see if there was a pattern evident.

There are rhyming words in the poem, with some being like-rhymes. (This meaning they are not EXACT rhymes, but very similar.) Also, the rhyme scheme doesn't follow a particular pattern. One stanza will be an AABB pattern and then on the next page, the rhyme scheme will be a ABAB rhyme pattern. When I first heard myself reading to a rhythm, this would be stopped and it would change.

What I find interesting about the book is at the end of the poem. There is a historical note which describes the "real" ride of Paul Revere. In one of the lines, it states, "It was two by the village clock/When he came to the bridge in Concord town." In the historical note, it is said that Revere never even made it to Concord so I thought that was interesting. Why did Longfellow write this? Did he think Revere was going to make it there, but didn't? Did Longfellow put this line in his poem to make it more meaningful? Unfortunately, I don't know and Longfellow is not around for me to ask him. :-)

Despite this fact, the poem of Paul Revere's ride could be an effective complement to the history books when studying this era in American History.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

You may have noticed that there's not a picture included with this post. This is because the poem (in storybook format) I read does not appear in a Google search. I love giving readers the cover as a visual of what I'm blogging about, but in this case, I do not have the cover to provide.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod is an old poem written by a man, Eugene W. Field in 1889. This is a famous poem, often times recited to children as they drift off to sleep. The poem is about three fisherman who go on a dream in a wooden shoe to catch stars in the night sky. When the dream is over, the three fisherman head back to reality to where a child is getting ready to go to sleep. The version I read is illustrated by David McPhail.

This poem is simple and easy. The front cover shows three rabbits (the fisherman) riding in a wooden shoe at night. The moon, with a face, takes up most of the front cover. By looking at the cover, readers can assume this could easily be read before bedtime. The illustrator uses different shades of blue on each page to show night and the position of the moon depends on how light or dark the blue hue is. There are many horizontal, wavy lines to show the fisherman sailing in shoe. The lines are not crazy and going all over the place. They are nice, smooth, almost rhythmic lines which gave me a sense of calmness as I was reading.

As stated, the poem is easy and light and the illustrations follow the same pattern. This poem does rhyme. The first page of text states, "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night/Sailed off in a wooden shoe--/Sailed on a river of crystal light/Into a sea of dew." There are two pages of 5-line stanzas and the rest of the poem ranges from three to four lines of text. The illustrations are not overly "busy" and, again, gives the readers a sense of an adventure, but not one that's thrill-seeking and extremely excitable.

This poem is very enjoyable and soothing. Readers get almost a relaxed feeling as the text is being read. I think this would make a great poem to read as a child is drifting off to dreamland.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Written & Illustrated by: William Steig

This is one of my favorite stories! Briefly, this story is about Sylvester, a donkey, who finds a magic red pebble and it grants Sylvester wishes. Sylvester accidentally wishes to become a big rock to escape the wrath of a lion and then realizes he doesn't have hands in order to hold the pebble and make a wish to return to himself. Readers view what happens as time passes on and Sylvester doesn't return home to his parents.

What I enjoy about this story is the human-like qualities of the animals. It is very evident in the illustrations the emotions the animals are feeling. I really like the illustrations because they seem "classic." The paper used is not glossy so it gives this story a different feel. None of the illustrations are in frames and the text is not in the pictures. The illustrations are simple, but very detailed. I don't know if this makes sense, but everything that's in the pictures should be there. Though a little long, this is a simple story and does not call for elaborate, glossy pictures with exaggerated characters.

Many students will enjoy this book and it is a good story to use when teaching students to make predictions. There are many times in the story when the teacher can stop and ask students to tell what they think is going to happen next. Even just for an enjoyable read aloud, this is an entertaining fantasy story with a happy ending!

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story From China

Translated & Illustrated by: Ed Young

Lon Po Po is a Chinese version of the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. The story is very similar though it does have some slight differences, of course. Instead of Little Red Riding Hood venturing to Grandma's house, a wolf comes knocking at the home of three little girls while their mother is on her way to see the girls' grandmother. I don't want to give away too much, though I will say there is a happy ending.

The illustrations in this story are watercolors and pastels. Young uses light and dark colors which provides the reader with spectacular pictures of the wolf. Young uses a technique called panel art. Many of the illustrations are in long, skinny frames, often two panels on the same page. I first thought about it feeling like a movie where the reader only sees the important parts. Since there is framing, there is much "white" space not used on the page. I figured if an illustrator is not going to fill up the entire page with a picture, there must be a good reason. I think it gives the reader the idea that what is in the long, slender panel is what the illustrator wants to call our attention to. There are some pages with all one illustration in a frame-no paneling. I noticed that the full-framed illustrations happen around the height, or action, of the story. Readers get excited because they are seeing more on the page than in the rest of the story.

This version of Little Red Riding Hood is different from what I've read in the past. It's very dark and the pictures are not always very clear. That makes this version even more magical, majestic even.

Swimmy

Written & illustrated by: Leo Lionni

This is a cute story about a little black fish named Swimmy who narrowly escapes being eaten by a big tuna fish. He is then left all alone in the world because many of his friends did not escape. He made himself feel better by experiencing all the magnificent creatures in the sea until he comes upon a school of fish just like his own, but they are too afraid to do anything because of being eaten by a bigger fish. Swimmy comes up with a plan to outsmart the biggest fish in the sea.

The illustrations in this story look like watercolors and some sort of printing with paint. This story is colorful, but not big, bright, over-the-top colors which makes the reader feel like she's really in the ocean underwater. It also looks like there are different colors just layered and layered on top of each other on some pages. It is almost dream-like.

What I did notice was that Swimmy is a little, tiny black fish and no matter what other creature was on the page, no matter the size, Swimmy was always noticeable and could be found. This makes sense because he is the main character in the story so I can see the reason why the author painted Swimmy in a color so that he could be easily recognized. Also, Swimmy is always swimming to the right. It doesn't matter what page he's on, the left or the right, he's always swimming to the right and it made me want to turn the page and observe what Swimmy was going to come across next. Most all of the animals do swim towards the right. What I do find interesting is that not one animal's body is cut off from one page to the other. At the end, when Swimmy and his gang are chasing away the big fish, these fish are cut off. Readers can only see the back half of their bodies and their tails. I thought this was very interesting and it made me feel like Swimmy had succeeded in what he set out to do with the school of fish like him.

Kitten's First Full Moon

Written and illustrated by: Kevin Henkes

Henkes is one of my absolute favorite authors/illustrators. I love all the stories he writes about animals and my students enjoy his stories just as much as I do. Kitten's First Full Moon was a story I came across that I had never read before.

The front cover of the story is very interesting because it was just black and white-no other colors. This is very unlike some of Henkes other works with bright, inviting colors like Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse just to name a couple. This is what enticed me to pick up this story-the fact that it's different from what I've read before by this author.

This story is about a hungry and persistent kitten who really needs some food and keeps confusing the bright moon with a bowl of milk. The pictures are done using gouache and colored pencil. Some pictures are full-page bleeds and some illustrations are in frames. The text is never part of the picture. One idea I had about this story is that the text and illustrations suit each other. They are both simple and this simple text does not call for elaborate illustrations.

The story consists of just black and white with Henkes using different shades of black to add texture to the pictures. Since the kitten is alone, the pictures are simple in that they focus just on this kitten. There's nothing in the background that doesn't need to be there. Whatever the text is saying is what the picture contains. For example, the text states, "So she [kitten] ran to the tallest tree she could find, and she climbed and climbed and climbed to the very top." This was one page of text and the illustration which coincides is a close-up of the kitten climbing up the bark of a tree.

I think young children can appreciate this text for the simple story and illustrations. Readers really feel it's nighttime with the illustrator just using white and different shades of black. It's a nice change to read a text like this if you're always used to reading books with colorful illustrations.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

By: Verna Aardema

Pictures by: Leo and Diane Dillon

This story has vivid, bright colorful pictures containing almost human-like animals. In the book, it states, "The art for this book was prepared in full color using watercolors applied with an airbrush in both fine spray and spatter technique, pastels rubbed on by hand, and india ink. The cut-out effect was achieved by actually cutting the shapes out of vellum and frisket masks at several different stages." Basically, in case you have yet to read this story, a mosquito tells Iguana a story and this sets off a chain reaction with all the animals in the jungle.

The first thing I noticed was the color of the illustrations. They are bright and colorful and close to real-life colors of animals. The animals are also very big and almost in-your-face. Sometimes, an iguana will be almost a 2 page bleed. The background is either white during the day and black for nighttime. Using only these two colors for the backgrounds really makes the animals stand out to the reader. Another interesting point about the animals is their facial expressions. They have their mouths open, looking surprised at times and also have their eyes closed when the text calls for it. They are almost human-like.

The bright, colorful illustrations and the in-your-face size of the animals seem very imaginative as something like this happening in everyday life would be.

I Had Seen Castles

By: Cynthia Rylant

I really enjoyed this story by Cynthia Rylant. This is vastly different from another "war" story, Bull Run. I've blogged about Bull Run and what I really enjoyed about that story is the feeling of how "close" I was to the war. I felt like I was fully involved and knew what was happening from all aspects via the perspectives of all the different characters.

I Had Seen Castles is somewhat of an emotional story and shows the emotional toll a war can have on a soldier and his family. I never felt like I was on the front lines as much as I felt I was in Bull Run. Though there were some graphic images of war, I felt I kind of went back and forth from the family aspect to these gritty images.

In this story, readers can observe how a war changes people. John Dante is definitely changed by the end of the story because of his experiences as a young soldier. On page 78, Dante experiences "The shoes with feet and legs up to the knees still standing, and nothing more. The rest of the boy is gone. Or the chest cavity blown wide open so that the heart can be seen, still beating, and the boy to whom the heart belongs reaches out and asks to be helped to die." How can a person not be changed by seeing something like this and not wonder why we're fighting in the first place?

Bull Run was interesting in that I felt almost whole being able to view the war from all sides and views. I don't necessarily feel that way from I Had Seen Castles, though I felt closer to John Dante because the story was told from his point-of-view. I was hooked to this story from the moment I picked it up and I think Rylant captured what life was like for one family during WW2.

It's Raining Pigs and Noodles

Poems by: Jack Prelutsky

Drawings by: James Stevenson

I'm one of those rare students in a college class who happily raises their hand when a professor asks, "Who in here likes poetry?" I love poetry. With that said, I don't like every poem I read. I'm also one of those teachers who exposes my Kindergarten students to poetry almost daily. If we have a minute or two before lunch, I whip out a book of poems. Sometimes, the kids beg me to read poems, especially if they're funny! Yeah!

Being that we were to blog about 1 collection of poetry, I found this to be quite difficult. I have LOTS of collections of poetry that I think are very worthwhile to blog about so I had to narrow down my choice. I did not choose Shel Silverstein or The Random House Book of Poetry. I chose It's Raining Pigs and Noodles by Jack Prelutsky. This collection of poems is very funny with some rhyming and some not. These poems are also very relateable with kids.

I've read this entire book, but chose to reread a few. "My Parents Have the Flu Today" is about a child and all the mischievous things he can do while his parents are sick in the bed and not around to really watch him. "I Ate a Tooth This Morning" is about a child who had a loose tooth and while eating breakfast, accidentally swallowed the tooth. Another poem, "You Can't Make Me Eat That," is about a child simply refusing to eat what's on his plate. Lastly, "Why Do I Have to Clean My Room," is about a child wondering why he is being made to clean his room because the "crayons scattered on the floor" and "pizza in the corner" do not bother him at all. All of the topics are very relateable and I can speak for my own classroom, that my students are rolling over in laughter when I read these poems aloud.

Though these poems may be over-the-top silly, I think it's a great way to introduce children to poetry and rhyming and discuss how poems are different than stories. Jack Prelutsky is a great poet with more hilarious collections on the shelf.

Grimm's Fairy Tales

I love fairy tales and have since I was little. Maybe I'm like most girls.... Who doesn't love a beautiful princess living happily ever after with a handsome prince? They have children and life is perfect, or so we're lead to believe. This is why I love fairy tales-they are fiction!!!! How many people really have the perfect life where there's never any problems after marrying your handsome beau? Not many of us probably do.

I like fairy tales because it gives me a chance to escape from the realities of my life and travel to another time, another world where everything is serene. I know most fairy tales have a protagonist facing a problem and life cannot be perfect until the problem is solved. I guess what gets me is the "happily-ever-after" part. No matter what the circumstances may be, readers experience a nice, warm, happy feeling at the end of most fairy tales because we, again, are lead to believe that life from now on is limitless and perfect.

I read a few fairy tales from the Grimm's Fairy Tales book and I chose ones I already knew and read. I really wanted to see if there was much difference between Grimm's and some newer versions. The biggest difference I noticed was the language. The vocabulary and language really seemed to be richer. Words were used that we don't usually use anymore. For example, in Rumpelstiltskin, the little man spoke to the miller's daughter by saying, "Good morrow to you, my good lass, what are you weeping for?" This can maybe make these tales a little harder to read. I don't believe I'm alone in saying that sometimes I get used to watching the Disney versions of fairy tales and these differ greatly from the Brothers Grimm and Aesop's Fables.

Overall, I enjoy reading versions of fairy tales from the Brother's Grimm. I even think it would be a good unit to read fairy tales from the Brother's Grimm and then other versions and compare/contrast. I think it would be very interesting.

A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson

By: Michelle Y. Green

This was an amazing biography of a young, black woman living in the 1940's who was one of the first African-American professional baseball players. She is still alive today and loves baseball more today than ever.

I found this biography to be very interesting and inspiring. Mamie loved the game of baseball and not only was she a woman, she was also black. Black women playing baseball was not something that was done during her time. Things were still segregated-schools, neighborhoods, gas stations, baseball fields, everything. Mamie was determined to play baseball no matter the fact that she's a woman and black. She felt this should not make any difference whatsoever. During the story, readers get a sense of the frustration Mamie felt because of who she was which was completely unfair. I just wanted to yell at some of the "white folks" for the treatment of Mamie.

There was a very funny part in the story. After Mamie had made the professional black minor league baseball team (with all male teammates plus one woman), it was discussed in her book about the travel conditions when playing in different cities. Mamie was frustrated because the old bus the team rode on would break down and the players would have to push the bus uphill before a game and would already be tired before their game. Green stated, "And we never knew if we had enough gas to make it from place to place, 'cause some of the towns we stopped in had 'Whites-Only' gas pumps. That never made sense to me. Seems like if those towns were so anxious to get rid of colored folks, they'd want to give us the gas we needed to get on down the road" (86). This is also what I appreciated about Mamie Johnson-her blunt honesty.

This is a truly inspiring story about a woman, her love for baseball and how she overcame barriers and boundaries due to her strong love of the game.

A Dog's Life - The Autobiography of a Stray

By: Ann M. Martin

I loved this fantasy book about a stray dog, Squirrel, and her "tail" (haha) about her life as a stray. This is certainly not one of your typical "happy-go-lucky" stories about a dog. It is very sad and death does occur in the story.

What I thought was intriguing is the story is from the point-of-view of Squirrel. I've never read a story like this and it was very interesting. I actually imagined myself as a dog while reading and tried,using imagery, to put myself into Squirrel's life. This is not the kind of life someone would want for a dog. This life is very sad, lonely, even desperate.

Whether the author tried or not, she was really effective in getting me very emotional and attached to Squirrel. There were times when I was reading that I actually was almost teary-eyed. This poor dog needed to catch a break. She didn't have a home and had to scrounge for food in the winter. Whenever she got comfortable, she was seen by someone about town and was forced to go on the run again.

I was reading some reviews of this book on the web and sometimes I agree and sometimes I don't. There was one review, in particular, that shed a new light on the character, Squirrel. The review basically said that for such the hardship Squirrel went through in the story, you would have thought she would have been a harsher dog-one that was not so sweet and forgiving. This review said that Martin (the author) didn't do a good job showing how Squirrel would really have felt due to her having a rough life. I don't know what to think about this review. In a way, I agree with it, but I don't think this took away from the story at all. Maybe there's a reason why Martin insisted on Squirrel being the sweet dog that she is no matter what she went through in her life.

Bull Run

By: Paul Fleischman

Woodcuts by: David Frampton

Honestly, I was not looking forward to reading this story after casually flipping through some of the pages, even though I love history. Once I started reading, though, I really got into the different characters.

Keeping the characters straight was difficult for me, though I think hearing different characters' stories was absolutely awesome and effective in interpreting the whole of the story. I probably should have kept a little piece of paper with notes on it to write down character names and to keep them straight. On the other hand, having the viewpoints of 16 different characters really made me feel I was part of the action. Each character was very authentic and readers get a glimpse of the different people in the first battle of the Civil War. I don't think I would have liked this book as much as I did if it had been written from just one person's point-of-view. Writing it this way proves to be very effective. I felt like I was really a part of the battle and the whole time, I was thinking about which character I liked the best.

If I taught a grade and the Civil War was an SOL, I would definitely use this story as a teaching tool. I think it gives a real insider's look to what war is really about. I also think kids would learn more from a story written in this way than an out-dated textbook any day.

You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

By: Jean Fritz

Illustrated by: Dyanne DiSalvo-Ryan

I love reading biographies. I like the the fact it's nonfiction, about a real person. It's been a long time since I've read a biography, especially a kid's one.

I had never heard of this book before and I flipped through it first to see if it was someone I'd be interested in learning about. I was enthralled by this woman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Many people know that Susan B. Anthony was the pioneer for the fight of women's suffrage in the late 1800's and early 1900's. But, there was someone else who worked very closely with Anthony in this fight-Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I had never heard of this woman before and I found the first few pages of this biography very interesting. As I continued to read, I learned about this woman and all the things she did to fight for equality. She is truly a remarkable person.

I would highly recommend this book to ALL women to read. It is amazing at what Stanton and Anthony had to go up against and the harassment they endured in fighting for women to be treated as an equal. Girl power is definitely an understatement! I vote in all elections and have been proud to do so since I was 18. I vote from the presidential elections to the city council. I not only feel like it's my right, I feel like it's my as an informed member of society. The next time I vote in an election, the plight of Stanton and all that she did to help women like me be treated as an equal will be in the back of my mind as I happily drop my ballot on the box!

The Legend of the Blue Bonnet

An old tale of Texas

Retold & Illustrated by: Tomie DePaola

I've always been a fan of Tomie DePaola and I was interested to read this legend about how Texas got the bluebonnet flower. The story involves an Indian girl from the Comanche tribe. It had been a long and harsh winter and there was still not any rain. The Comanche people prayed to the Great Spirits asking what was needed in order to get some rainfall. The people must make a sacrifice of a most prized possession. A warrior did not want to give up his new bow and arrow and a woman did not want to give up a blanket.

A young girl named, She-Who-Is-Alone, ended up sacrificing her doll. This was a very special doll. It was the only item she had left after her parents and grandparents died from a famine. She, a child, made the ultimate sacrifice. Where the ashes of her burned doll had been spread, there was now beautiful bluebonnet flowers. Her people rejoiced and renamed her One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.

This legend had a great moral. Even though the main purpose was to tell how Texas got the bluebonnets, I think there's an even deeper meaning. People should be more willing to do for other people and not just themselves. This child (not even an adult) was unbelievably unselfish in giving away something she truly cared about for the sake of her people.

There's an author's note in the back of this book and DePaola states, "She-Who-Is-Alone's act of thrusting her beloved doll into the fire to save her people represents the decisive sort of action that many young people are capable of, the kind of selfless action that creates miracles." This is why I love legends and fables. I love the deeper meanings.

Addie Across the Prairie

By: Laurie Lawlor

Illustrated by: Gail Owens

This is a historical fiction story set in 1883 with Addie as the main character. Addie's family is picking up and moving from Iowa to Dakota in order to claim land and start building on it. Addie is very apprehensive about moving and thinks she's not the "prairie-girl" type. She rather prefers staying where she's comfortable, i.e. Iowa. Her best friend, Eleanor, is there and Addie was able to attend school. She is forced to leave family and all that is known to her behind to begin a very unknown life.

All in all, I was very interested in reading this story because this era somewhat intrigues me. Once I started the book, though, I found the story to progress slowly and I was ending up making myself pick up the book to read it. As the story moved on (about halfway through) things started to get a little more interesting and fast-paced.

I thought the descriptions were great of all the chores the family was required to do and also the fire scene. I didn't feel the language was that of someone who lived in the late 1800's. I mean, the mother did use the word "quarrel" instead of fight when talking to Addie and her younger brother. I just thought the language would be a little richer since this is a historical fiction story. (I recently read one set in 1925 and the language was very authentic to the time period.)

All in all, I have mixed feelings in regards to whether I liked this story or not and I'm usually pretty cut and dry. It was not bad and I wouldn't go around saying this story was not an enjoyable one, but it definitely wasn't the best historical fiction piece I've ever read. I'm not even sure I'd recommend this one. (How indecisive can I be?) :-)

Morning Girl

By: Michael Dorris

Morning Girl is a story set back in pre-Columbus 1492. The two main characters, Morning Girl and Star Boy, belong to a tribe called the Taino's and live on an island in the Bahamas. The story is from the point-of-view of both siblings. Every other chapter, the point-of-view changes.

The main focus of the story is the sibling rivalry between the sister and brother. Morning Girl is also obsessed with trying to figure out who she is. She gets her name because she goes to bed early so she can wake up at dawn. Star Boy gets his name because he stays up all night watching the stars and then sleeps late in the day.

I enjoyed reading this story. It was interesting to learn how each person gets their name. When a child is born, these people have to get to know the child before it is given a name because the name has to be fitting. The reader can tell this takes place a long time ago with the descriptions of how they get their food and how it is cooked. Also, these Taino people live in little huts with palm fronds as their roof.

The most interesting part was the last couple of pages. Morning Girl is taking a swim in the ocean when she discovers people in a canoe. She finds them odd and strange, though she acts friendly towards them. Then, the story abruptly ends. What follows is an epilogue written by Christopher Columbus. These were the people Morning Girl saw. In the epilogue, Columbus tells how he is going to take six of these people back and teach them his language because they would make really good servants. I was actually enraged at this part. I didn't like what was written in the epilogue which is exactly was the author was (maybe)intending.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It was a simple read with an interesting ending.

Stevie

Written & Illustrated by: John Steptoe

Stevie is a book I read for my undergraduate Kids Lit class and I decided to reread this story. I thought maybe I'd learn or notice something new. Maybe it would be more meaningful to me since my college days a few years back. (They weren't that long ago.) :-)

This story is written from the point of view of an African-American boy about 9 or 10 years old. His name is Robert. He is always being bugged by the little boy, Stevie, who stays with him Monday through Saturday. The author doesn't tell if the two are kin. They are obviously not brothers though they act like it. It could be a cousin or just a friend of the family. The reader must speculate because it is not mentioned in the text.

Robert and Stevie, though not brothers, have that sibling love-hate relationship. Robert is tired of Stevie always following him around and wanting to play with him and his friends. When Stevie makes loud noises in the house, Robert is the one who gets the blame. Stevie is even referred to as "Old Stupid" by Robert. One day, Stevie is gone and does not come back. Robert soon realizes how much he actually missed having another child around to play and hang out with. (Robert's an only child.) At the end of the story, Robert is missing Stevie so much he can't even finish his food.

The pictures in the story seem to be made using chalk and it gives this book a different feel. Not every page has a picture. When there is a picture, it is a one-page bleed or a full-page bleed which creeps onto the opposite page as well. The chalk gives this story a distant feeling which makes sense because the entire book is of Robert reminiscing about what he and Stevie used to do together before Stevie left. I think using chalk really enhanced the idea that the events have already taken place and Robert is sitting and thinking.

I'm not an only child, but if I was, this would make me think of what it would be like to have a sibling. Also, the way Stevie and Robert bicker reminds me of my sister and I and how often we fight.

Cinderella Penguin

Retold & Illustrated by: Janet Perlman

I will admit. The front cover of this book didn't really excite me other than the fact that a penguin was Cinderella. This story holds true to the fairy tale of Cinderella. A penguin is made to work hard for her stepsisters, she attended a ball after getting a little help from the Great Fairy Penguin with her wardrobe, and she left a "flipper" at the ball after running to be home on time. The funniest part is when the Prince is doing his standard door-to-door search for the girl who owns the glass slipper, or flipper, in this case. Cinderella Penguin is pushed into the basement by her stepsisters and her foot is sticking out from the floor. The Prince puts the glass flipper on her foot and, of course, it fits and they live happily ever after. The picture of the glass flipper on Cinderella's foot while it is sticking out from the floor is pretty funny.

Most all of the illustrations are framed with text on the opposite page or under the illustrations. The framing made me feel like I was viewing one scene of a movie to the next. Most of the pictures cover almost the entire page. When Cinderella wanted to go to the ball and she burst into tears, the frame was much smaller than the rest of the illustrations. This was done to really put the focus on Cinderella and how "small" and meaningless her stepsisters made her feel. I thought this, anyway.

Overall, this was a funny and comical version of Cinderella that I know my Kindergarten students would enjoy. I wouldn't say this is the best version of Cinderella out there in Book Land, but it's definitely worth a read.

Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale

By: Pamela Duncan Edwards

Illustrated by: Henry Cole

I was a little unsure when I first picked up this version of Cinderella. If you glance at the front cover of the book, you can already tell this is going to be a very comical story. I chose this because when I took one look, I thought, "My students are going to love this!" It has dinosaurs for the boys and a Cinderella twist for the girls-not that boys couldn't like Cinderella and girls like dinosaurs. (I'm not like that!) :-)

Though this version has some similarities with Cinderella, there is a part which I absolutely love and has quite a different twist. How many women, myself included, are sometimes tired of having the Prince always saving the Princess? Or, the female character always has to be rescued, of course, by a man? Well, in this story, the princess dinosaur, Dinorella, saves the prince!!!! I love that. She's a strong, independent female at the end. (In the beginning, she was taken advantage of by her stepsisters and being demanded to do hard work.)

As for the text, when the author wants to stress something, she will write the word in all capital letters and also bold it so the reader knows to read the word with feeling. Also, the writer uses numerous words that begin with the letter D throughout the entire story. I'm not really sure why she does this. Other than reading a book in the fairy tale genre to your class, a teacher can also use this as a read aloud when studying the letter D.

Overall, I think this is a hilarious version of Cinderella which many elementary school kids would enjoy!

Princess Furball

By: Charlotte Huck

Illustrated by: Anita Lobel

I've read this version of Cinderella a couple of times and like it. It is a Cinderella story in the sense that there's a little magic and a princess is made to do hard labor. She goes to a ball and no one knows who she really is. There are a few twists in this version. There has to be. This princess works in the kitchen of the King's castle and "escapes" her kitchen duties, changes into a beautiful gown, and attends a ball. This happens three times and she is eventually "found" out. There is no glass slipper and she marries a King instead of a prince. Of course, the story follows the fairy tale genre and has a happy ending.

I was not impressed with the illustrations. Actually, maybe I should take that statement back. The illustrations were very detailed and beautiful, but they were not colorful. I know, I know.... Not every book has big, bright colorful illustrations. (Can you tell I'm a Kindergarten teacher and love reading happy, bright books???) I like bright, vibrant, colorful pictures and these were simply not. This doesn't mean the illustrations were bad because they aren't. The type of illustrations fit this storyline well. It is effective. Also, there are "colorful" pictures, but this book just seems brown to me. I don't know... That's how I feel, brown.

The text itself and illustrations are laid out nicely on each page. There are full page illustrations with a half-page illustration on the opposite page with text above/or below the illustration. The text and pictures seem organized and they flow. (Is that a word?) It is not a funny, hilarious, laugh out loud version of Cinderella and I think the layout supports this.

Overall, when studying different versions of fairy tales, this is definitely one worth reading.

The Secret School

By: Avi

I loved this story about Ida Bidson and her perserverance to become a teacher no matter what it takes! This story is set in Elk Valley, Colorado in 1925. Ida and her brother, Felix, attend school in a one-room schoolhouse with six other students of various ages. Ida's teacher, Miss Fletcher, must leave town to care for a sick relative and without the teacher, the superintendent closes the school. This is bad news for Ida because she will not be able to take her final exam and move on to high school. She then has an idea that she will be the teacher and school will be a secret. (I felt I needed to give a little background.)

What I love about Ida is her perseverance and determination to teach these other children despite needing to study for her own exam. Ida is responsible for chores before going to school and after school. Then, she needs to prepare her lessons to teach and then do some studying herself. She works very hard and the reader can see Ida is such an unselfish person. She's very caring, determined, and strong willed. Even when the superintendent says that girls don't need to go to school, Ida does not let this stop her.

The author made it very clear in his descriptions that the setting is in the 1920's. One student rode an animal to school. Felix and Ida had to wind up their car to get it started. The schoolhouse was only one room with students of vast ages in attendance. Ida's best friend (whom she had a slight crush on) was fiddling with getting a radio to work. Also, the story was enriched with vocabulary. Teachers could (and should) really take advantage of this if using this story as a classroom assigned reading or a read aloud.

At the end of the story, there was a small interview with the author and it was asked where he got the inspiration for this story. He has a mountain home in Elk Valley, Colorado where this story is based and in writing this story, he stated he read a lot about one-room schoolhouses and knew some people who attended them. It was also noted that self-reliance is a theme in The Secret School and Avi was asked why this was. He stated, "Young people live in a world controlled, shaped, and ordered by older people. To become more than a child you must take charge of your own fate" (157). I thought this was interesting. I love to read about what an author's inspiration is for a certain book.

Sounder

By: William H. Armstrong

This is a story set in the 1800's about a boy and his family. The father is a sharecropper and the mother does odd jobs for the "white folks in the big houses with windows" and other jobs to have enough money to buy food. The family owns a dog, Sounder, who very quickly gets hurt in the beginning of the story. I was shocked! I wasn't expecting the dog to get hurt in the story for some reason. The description of Sounder and what he looked liked after what had happened to him almost made me cry. I was reading this as my own dog, Chief, was lying at my feet. The father ends up going to jail and the oldest son takes on a great responsibility of taking care of household duties and delivering items to the jail because women were not allowed in during this time period. I don't want to tell too much of what happens in the story.

I thought the story would have more focus on the dog. Don't get me wrong. The dog definitely plays a role. There are many other things that happen, though, without Sounder as the focus. The author gave elaborate descriptions in the story. There was actually very little dialogue and this made sense. The tone was very depressing and life was always a struggle. It seemed like there wasn't really time for talk. No, that's not right. This family just didn't talk to each other that much. Things needed to be said were said, plain and simple. Life seemed very simple. This family was just trying to make ends meet. Also, this family was not an educated one and when there was dialogue, it was written in the text to show this lack of education.

Overall, I did not enjoy this story. It was like pulling teeth for me to actually sit down and read it. It wasn't a bad story. I do want to make that clear because it obviously was good to some people since it won a Newbery Medal. It just did not interest me in the least.

Missing May

By: Cynthia Rylant

I really enjoyed reading this sad, sad story. I liked it a lot better than Van Gogh Cafe by Rylant though this book was much, much sadder and depressing. First of all, where Ob and Summer live really seems depressing. They live in a trailer and it doesn't seem like too many people are around. It feels very lonely-the whole story, in fact, feels lonely. There really doesn't seem like there's anything for Ob and Summer to look forward to ever since May passed away. I know how hard it is to lose someone very close to you. I spoke of my grandfather's death on another post of mine so I don't want to describe it again because it'll get me teary-eyed! I can so relate to Ob and Summer's emotional distress.

I'm really glad Summer and Ob finally felt ready to move on. It takes time, but during the story, it seemed like Ob was going to be depressed forever. I actually feel a little guilty about saying that because I've never lost a spouse and I can't imagine how that would feel. My fiance is a firefighter so he has a very dangerous job. It makes me nervous and I never want to be in that situation. So, since I've never experienced it, I can't really judge Ob for his lack of motivation.

Cletus is an odd character, but his obsession with pictures fascinated me. I like when he says, "Anything with a story to it." I'm kind of a pack-rat (though I try very hard not to be.) It's hard to give up something you find interesting. If Cletus sees an interesting picture, he keeps it and I think that's cool.

I also thought May was a very special girl who cared about her uncle's well-being so much. On page 24, May thinks, "Ob needed somebody to fill the empty hole she [May] left, and I reckon if I aged about fifty years, I might could fill it for him." I thought she was very caring and wise beyond her years to want to "fix" the problem and get Ob feeling happy again.

I thought this was a genuinely sad story, but anyone who has lost a loved one could relate.

Seedfolks

By: Paul Fleischman

I read this story in my undergrad kids literature class at CNU and remember liking the story. I loved how each chapter is from the perspective of someone different. This was very powerful. This book could easily have been written from the third-person point of view. Would this have been better? Would the story have been as meaningful? I really believe it wouldn't have been. Each chapter is a story within itself and then all the chapters are looped together into one big story.

I liked the end of the story when all the different neighbors and locals knew each other and had learned to respect one another. There were definitely many people in the garden from various backgrounds and cultures and it was touching how all of the hate dissipated. Some people may still not like others to a degree, but everyone was, what's the word, social, maybe. No, tolerant! And, this is okay. It seemed like the community really pulled together and put differences aside.

I think the garden is a great metaphor. If you really take the time and really show you care and nurture something, you'll get pretty flowers and delicious vegetables. On the other hand, if you're neglectful and uncaring, you'll get weeds. :-) You get what you put in and this garden could be a metaphor for many things in life.

The Giver

By: Lois Lowry

I enjoyed reading The Giver and never expected to enjoy this story. I was always one of those kids who couldn't wait for our teacher to assign us the next classroom read. Sometimes, there were stories I was really dreading and this is how I felt when I saw the front cover of The Giver. I knew there was something special about it, though, because it won a Newbery Medal. :-)

To me, even though this is considered a "child's" book, it was not as easy to read as I thought it would have been. There is definitely some different language used-like Assignment instead of occupation. When I think of assignment, I think of homework I have to do. My point is, though the language isn't difficult, per se, it's different. I know if I had to pause every now and then to really ingest and understand what the author was saying, I would think students 10-15 years younger than me would have to as well. The language used really alerts the reader that this place and community is unlike ours.

It's hard to imagine what life would be like if everything was perfect and I think Lowry did an excellent job at trying to relate this image. There have been many times when there has been so much going on in my life that I think to myself, Why can't everything just work out and go smoothly? This would make life much easier. On a deeper note, what would life be like with no war, hatred, disagreements, or any emotion at all?? I think this world would be a very boring place. (Just a side note, war and hatred were just examples.) Don't we, as humans, learn from our mistakes and misgivings? It makes me think, how much can a person grow if there's really no learning taking place? I'm not saying Jonas didn't learn anything in the story, because of all people, he did. But, what about everyone else? Would it be such a wonderful thing to have such a utopian society?

This story, again, was an incredible one which I was glad I ended up reading. It makes you think and, ultimately, appreciate the fact that maybe it's okay to not have a perfect world.