Would I Ever Lie To You? By Caralyn Buehner

This book is something that all children with siblings can relate to. The main idea of the book is about teasing. This book would be a good mini lesson to teach young children about bullying. The examples in the book are playful and to older children may seem quite obvious that they are jokes, but to younger children they are serious questions. I found the illustrations and the characters images to fit the mood of the book really well. The tone is good-humored because it is told from the perspective of a young child. The illustrations are exaggerated and display a lot of emotion. I feel that young readers would really enjoy this book and I would recommend it for students in grades second and third.

Uncle Lester’s Hat By Howie Schneider

This book incorporates a playful role of traveling. I think that the use of colored pencil for the illustrations helps keep the tone of the book very carefree and lighthearted. There are two main characters in the book, the uncle and his nephew. The uncle starts off in the beginning of the book by never leaving his chair, until one day when he receives an old hat. This hat becomes the inspiration for the uncle to begin his travels and to get up off his chair. The hat “blows” all around the world, introducing the reader to different countries. I think that this book is wonderfully written, it has the tone of the little boys voice well displayed within the dialogue between him and his aunt. It also sets a good example for children to explore and to not sit and watch television. It demonstrates that there is more to life, then just watching the television and exploring things around you. I think that this book would be great for children who have an interest in traveling. I think that the reading level would be appropriate for grades up until third. If I were to incorporate this book in my classroom, I would have a passport activity were each child would “travel” to different places in the room. The different parts of the room would represent a different country for the students to learn about.

Chicken Dance By Tammi Sauer

The cover of this book reminds me of the Stinky Cheese Man. The colors are very similar, and there is also an illustration of chicken. The inside cover of the book is creative because there are illustrations of the dance steps to the “Dancing with Marge and Lola.” This book sends a positive message, which is to not give up and to stay true to one ’s self. The competition that takes place in the book showcases the barnyard animals and their talents. Each year the ducks win the contest, but the chickens were determined to win this year. The chickens did not win, but they were chosen by Elvis Poultry to perform in his act. I think that this story is very playful and exciting. I think that young children will like the idea of animals having a talent competition and adults will enjoy the “Elvis” chicken. I would recommend this book for a classroom grades first through third. If I were to read this book as a read aloud, I might even have my own classroom talent show too.

Good Day Bad Days By Catherine Anholt

This book is beautifully illustrated in colored pencil. It illustrates the story really well, so that a beginning reader could tell from the pictures what the book is about. The book has little words, but it has a powerful message that everyone goes through mood swings, bad and good. The book mentions many different days that one can experience: play days, rainy days, slow days, and sick days-just to name a few. There is one word per page which allows for the illustrations to take on a large role for the picture book. I think that beginning readers would really enjoy this book. I especially like the ending because it states that there is no day like today. I think that is a good message to send to children, in order for them to appreciate each day. I would recommend for parents to read this book to their young children or for a first grade classroom.

39 Uses for a Friend By Harriet Ziefert

This book is has a very simple layout. The cover illustrates two best friends with a tree and a dog. The book has basic drawings with little details. This story has many creative ideas for what friends can be used for. I thought that friends being used as “alarm clocks, sprinklers, back scratchers, and as a napkin” were original. I enjoyed how each page has a border on the outside of the picture that added a unique quality to the simple page design. I also liked how the characters were different for each description. There are multiple races and both male and female paired together. I found that the font of the text was also very appropriate because it appears to be handwritten by a child. The words are advanced for a beginning reader, but with help from the illustration one could make an educated guess. I would recommend this book in a classroom library for grades first though forth. I think that it displays positive messages about friends.

How do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? By Jane Yolen

This book is very similar to How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? The set up of the book is the same, but what is different is that there is a moral lesson taught. This book addresses the idea of love and how it is unconditional. These dinosaurs do some bad things, for example threw sand out of the sandbox and flooded the house when played in the sink. Even though the dinosaurs did all these things, they were still told that they were loved. I think that is a great message to send to kids. It is important for children to know that even if they make mistakes they are still cared about. Love is something that everyone should have in their lifetime and learning about how it is unconditional at a young age is important. I think that this book would be better suited for an at home read, but is still appropriate for school. I think that the book would be best for younger readers, approximately first and second grade. The story can also be told through the illustrations, for they are very detailed and go hand in hand with the story line.

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen

I was drawn to the book because the title had to do with school. The big yellow dinosaur stands out among the background compliment color purple, catches the audiences eyes. Because the title is a question, I was intrigued to read on to find out with the answer was. The text is very large in size so that it can be read by a younger reader. The dinosaurs are painted in bright colors and do not look scary. I liked how the dinosaurs have humanistic qualities to them, making it easy for a young reader to connect with the dinosaurs. In the beginning of the book, it had situations where the dinosaur would not behave, but in the end it shows that the dinosaur can behave and be helpful. I liked how the dinosaurs are labeled discretely so that someone interested in learning different dinosaurs would be interested in this book. I think that this book would be a good idea to have in a classroom. Both boys and girls could seek enjoyment in reading this picture book, especially those who like animals.

All Those Secrets of the World by Jane Yolen

The cover of this book caught my eye because it has a young sister and brother standing is the ocean holding hands. I thought that it was very cute, but I worried for them because of the boats in the background of the cover illustration. The illustrator’s decision to paint with dark and dull colors sets the tone as very serious. The illustrations show the characters to be very emotional and sad, as they should because it is during a time of War and their father was deployed. I think that this story sends a good message because how the family stayed strong and helped each other though the time of trouble. I think that because of all the children whose parents or family members that serve our country by working in our armed forces, this book is beneficial in a classroom. The book can serve as a tool to help explain further what military families go through during a time of war. I think that this book is for second graders through fourth because War can be a scary topic.

Baby Bear’s Chairs by Jane Yolen

One can tell by opening the cover that this book is written for a younger audience. There are bright colors and stylized pictures. The illustrations are painted in water color which gives them a soft warm feeling. The story is told in poem from perspective of a little bear. He begins observing how some bears sit in big chairs, unlike the baby bears that sit in little bears. This young bear is describing the difference between adults, children, and infants. I thought that the book was clever because it made the adult life to seem wonderful, just like how I thought when I was younger. Jane Yolen used the example of staying up late, which I used to envy when I was little. I enjoyed the ending because it tied the story together by showing that the infant does have a great life. The little bear rests in his Papa’s chest, which most young children can all relate too. I think that this book is a great book to tell before bed. The baby bear falls asleep at the end, so it would be a good transition for a child’s bedtime. Similar to Grandma’s Hurrying Child, I do not think that I would read this as a read aloud in my classroom, but it is a great book for adults read to their child.

Grandma’s Hurrying Child by Jane Yolen

I have not read many books that are written from a Grandparents perspective. I thought that this book would be appealing to young girls, like the main character herself. The book is about a Grandma telling her grandchild Maddy how she was a “hurrying child.” She got the nickname because the grandma was almost late to see her being born at the hospital, because Maddy was born earlier then expected. I found the pictures to be very detailed and followed the story really well. I like the bright colors that are painted with watercolor. I think that it gives the book a soft and “girly” touch to it. I also liked when the illustrator divided the pictures diagonally so that the reader could see what the family was doing while the grandma was traveling to greet Maddy at the hospital. I think that this is a wonderful book to be read before bedtime or by a grandparent, but I wonder if it would be popular in a classroom. It is definitely appropriate, but I think that it is a story to be read by a family member instead of a teacher because of the subject.

Glogster

Reflection

I have really enjoyed Children’s Literature so far. I have greatly enjoyed rereading picture books I read as a child, while also reading new books. The organization of the class is helpful because I know what to expect each week. I think that having five picture books and one chapter book each week is a reasonable request. It allows for me to have enough variety among my book choices, but is not overwhelming so I do not rush through the books. I thought that it was very helpful when the librarian came and talked to the class. I found her tips on how to analyze a picture book to be very helpful. The genre project was very helpful also, and I plan to use the books my classmates chose in my future classroom. I enjoyed reading The Giver and The Misfits as a class. I think that it was beneficial to read books as a class, because I enjoyed discussing with other classmates. Having a discussion about books is really important. I think that having an informal classroom environment allows for the students to open up, and therefore benefit from the conversations. I think it is a great idea that we are incorporating technology into this class. I think that it is important to have other mediums of books because technology is becoming a large part of our daily lives. If I were to make a recommendation, I would dedicate a week to books on tape, computer books, or any other type of book that is not in a paper format. I am excited to learn how to use the “Glogger” cite and to continue to learn about fun and interesting children’s books.

The Misfits By James Howe

I really enjoyed reading this book! The dialogs between Addie and the other characters read like a quick read. It was hard to put this book down because I could analysis my own experiences. I remember being embarrassed in school and feeling out of place at times. Addie’s character was my favorite because I feel like she really stood up for what she believed in. I, unlike Addie, would never have the guts to not stand up for the pledge at school! I think that it is important for us to remember that children do understand what is going on around them and might not be as “innocent” as we think they are. I feel that this book covers a lot of topics that young students are going through in school. There are the day to day issues and bullying that takes place, but also the struggles and insecurities. I really liked how each character had their own unique personality. It makes the reader really feel for them and a young student in middle school could possible feel a “text to text” connection. The only controversy I felt that took place in the book is the two gay characters (Joe and Collin). I think that the issue of homosexuality is still fairly new and not yet fully accepted. I feel that it is a topic that is important to talk about and with the right audience this book would be appropriate. I think that I would have this book in my classroom for older elementary students to read.