Goodnight Moon by: Margaret Wise Brown

Goodnight Moon is a great book about a bunny and his ritual of saying goodnight to objects in his room. I think this is another fantastic book and that Margaret Wise Brown does a fantastic job with rhyme. I think it is incredible that the entire book takes place in a single room but the illustrations are so intricate and detailed that it is eye catching throughout. The subtle details in her illustrations are also a good teachable moment to children when reading the book because it teaches them to pay attention to detail to get more out of whatever piece of literature they are reading.

Green Eggs and Ham by: Dr. Seuss

i chose to read this book because it was on of my favorite books as a little kid. I think that Dr. Seuss does an amazing job with his characters and illustrations and they are simply captivating. I really like the fact that this book rhymes and the manner that it does it in. i think it is creative and obviously is his style of writing. This book is a classic and I think it is a book that all young children should either read or have read aloud to them. I don't like the word classic or think that any one book is good for everyone, but this may be the acception. I love this book and plan on reading it to my children and their children because I think it is such a fun read regardless of how educational it is.

Final Reflection

This semester has been a very good experience for me because it opened my eyes to childrens books and the lessons they can teach kids. I now realize how important it is to read books as a teacher instead of just a reader. Before taking this class I never really thought about how childrens books could affect the views and ideas of children as they read but now I do. I also thought that these books were just something to read and had no real morals or life lessons. However, after reading a whole smash of books with lessons I don't think I came across until High School like issues on diversity I really can appreciate what these authors do for a living. I think it is important to find books that children can think critically about instead of just reading another princess story where everything turns out perfect in the end. Some of the issues we talked about in class are touchy subjects like issues of homosexuality and rape. This opened my eyes to the fact that children are dealing with these issues younger and younger as the years go by and by introducing them to these controversial subjects through picture books is a good way to get them thinking and having discussions about the issues. I think now that it is important to instill values and morals in children at as early of an age as possible whereas before taking this class I would have thought it to be completely ridiculous to teach a fifth or sixth grader about rape. This class has definitely had a big affect on me and will certainly influence the way I choose books for my future classroom. I really enjoyed being introduced to new genres of books I would have never thought of before like graphic novels, and also learning about non-fiction books on racism and diversity I would have never thought to be common among childrens books. This was a great experience and will certainly help me become a better teacher in the future.

Mid-Term Reflection

I was unaware that we were supposed to do a reflection about the class at mid-term but I do remember how I felt around that time. At mid-term I was really starting to enjoy the class and see how important it was to be critical of childrens books. I think that before we discussed some of the books I just thought any old childrens book would be good enough to read to a class because I thought they were all the same. But right around mid-term is where I really started to distinguish "good" books from "bad" and I know that terminology isn't really used when referring to childrens books but I think it is realistic. Before taking this class I didn't really pay attention to the messages and things that childrens books could send to their readers I just thought it was always fluffy stories that had happy endings. I believe this was around mid-term when you showed us the video of your husband reading the book to your son where the boy gets naked. If we wouldn't have talked about the fact that the boy was naked and that there was a form of a male body part I might not have noticed or thought it could have been controversial. But thinking critically about books and analyzing them deeper than the name of the book and how colorful the illustrations are is really important in selecting books you want your students to read. I think mid-term was right about where I started to actually think deeply and actually care about the books I was reading and the content they consumed.

Love That Dog

I really really enjoyed this book I thought it was an awesome read. I love the fact that Jack resists poetry so much at the beginning and then eventually grows to really like it. I just think the book is really cool because it is not all poems but she writes in in poetry form and it helps tell the story. I think that Sharon Creech does an incredible job portraying Jack as a person and not just a character in a book. I think her depiction of his really brings him to life and also makes him easy to relate to for young boys who are not necessarily into poetry. It made me think of my first few experiences with poetry and how much I hated it, but then when I took a creative writing class and was basically forced to write poetry I began to really enjoy it. I think this book shows a good lesson where if you do not like something or do not think you are good at it right away, if you just continue to work at it you can be successful with it and that it might even become a passion of yours.

A Year of Impossible Goodbyes

This book deals with the same issues as "So Far from the Bamboo Grove" but in a completely different perspective. This comes from the perspective of a 10 year old Korean girl who survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupations of North Korea during the 1940's and tells the tale of her eventual escape to South Korea. This book, since I read after reading "So Far from the Bamboo Grove" was not as powerful image wise to me. I think that I do have a biased opinion since I read the other book first and already formulated ideas of what this time period and the events that took place. I do think this book is controversial as well, but not quite as graphic or detailed as the first book. I think that since both books tell different sides it would be proper to teach both books at the same time to young children to make sure that they understand that these are perspectives and not 100% truth. I think that this gives the teacher a very teachable moment because it allows them to discuss the fact that people can remember or record things differently and relate it to their lives. For instance, you could use the fact that these two books are so different and relate it to two different people's stories of how a fight broke out on the playground. After reading both of these books I do think that if you teach one, you should most likely teach the other one just for a different perspective, without telling or influencing the students on which one they think is right.

So Far From the Bamboo Grove

This book is riveting as far as teaching it in an elementary classroom goes. I think that this book deserves a lot of the controversial talk that it has gotten over the years simply because of the issues it discusses. Not only does it talk about war from a perspective that many of it's readers most likely have very little knowledge about, but it also talks about a few things that would make many adults uncomfortable. The issue I am referring to is the forced prostitution and rape that occurs in the book. I think that rape is an issue that is very difficult to talk about even in a High School classroom where students should have enough knowledge and morals to be able to discuss the issue in an appropriate and mature manner. However, this can be a very risky and difficult subject to talk about in an elementary schools. There are many reasons for this, but I think the main one is exposure or lack there of to the students prior to reading about it in this book. I do think that it is a subject a teacher has to be very careful discussing and it would vary class by class year by year depending on the maturity level of your students. I can understand why parents think that their children should not be exposed to such a horrible thing as rape in the classroom and that perhaps it is an issue that should be dealt with at home. However, I do believe that if given the opportunity, and under the right circumstances, the issue can be talked about effectively with young children. The main question this subject still raises in my head is how much different it would be for me, as a male, to teach this to a classroom of young students than a female teacher. I think this is an important factor in teaching about a subject as sensitive as rape due to the fact that females are the main victims in these crimes. This book really makes you think deep as an adult as to if and to what extent we want our children learning about some of the more graphic details of this particular depiction of this war.

HOT HOT HOT by: Neal Layton

This book was GREAT! I really enjoyed reading it. It is clearly aimed at a lower grade level but is really entertaining and educational. I love how the book goes through and talks about the seasons and the ice age all while keeping it fun and entertaining. The illustrations are great and really pull the reader into the story. I think the use of a sloppy style text gives the illusion that maybe a child wrote it, and the language also points to that too. I think this is an effective strategy in childrens' books and wish I saw more of it. I think that the illustrations also kind of look like they have been done by a young student, and if done intentionally I think is brilliant. My favorite part of the book is the last page because it is informational and I think that is an awesome thing to do at the end of a fictional book because it clarifies things for the reader and gives them information about the book that they may not have known before. I definitely recommend this book.

The Costume Copycat by: Maryann Macdonald

This was a story about a little girl who always wanted to be just like her older sister and copied her costumes every year on Halloween because her sister had got such praise for wearing it the year before. But it never quite worked out for her, something always went wrong and she just didn't look as good as her sister had. So finally one year, she made her own costume and since her sister was sick and couldn't go, she brought back candy for her. This story is nice because it teaches you to be yourself and do things because you want to do them not because somebody else does it. This book provides teachable moments on individuality and self expression. I really enjoyed the layout and the illustrations of the book as well. I also like how the back of the book has a picture and a short paragraph summary of the book because it gives the reader an idea of what they are going to be reading before they dive into the book.

The Forgotten Forest by: Laurence Anholt

This was a very nice book about a huge forest that is gradually cut down and replaced with city buildings until just a small section of the forest remained. Then, when the last bit of forest was about to be cut down the workers realized from the children crying to save the forest that instead of cutting down the trees they should cut down the fence holding the forest in. The illustrations in this book were the best part they are very intricate and well done with a lot of attention to detail. I think the pictures portray the story in a way that shows the beauty and importance of the forest. I also like how the text is under the pictures instead of on top of them because it makes it easier to read and follow along with. This would be a great book for a child to read because it also has a positive environmental message.

The Stupids Take Off by: Harry Allard-James Marshall

For this book I focused mainly on the title of the book for my topic of discussion. The word "stupid" is highly stigmatized and can be hurtful to people if they are called it. This is why I was shocked when I saw a book with a family named the Stupids. I feel like this is something that young children could really take the wrong way and mock the book and it repeats a word they should not use. I also noticed the repetition of the word stupid throughout the book, even though it is said as a name, it sounds offensive. For instance it says the two Stupid kids have never heard of Uncle Carbuncle and "Oh, we get it," said the two Stupid kids. I was entertained by the book but as a future teacher I do not think I would want my students vigorously repeating such a demeaning word over and over in a book.

The Princess and the Peanut Allergy by: Wendy McClure

This was a book I chose for my study buddy to read because she likes princess stories and I actually thought it was pretty good. It tells a story about two friends and how a girl named Regina was going to have a party and in her cake there was peanuts and peanut butter. But she found out her best friend Paula was allergic to peanuts. It turns out Regina gets mad at Paula because she wants her party exactly how she likes it, but then later realizes that it is important to her that her best friend Paula can come to the party and eat cake. The story is for younger kids so even if it sounds silly to older children it can send a pretty good message to young children. It shows that friendship is important and that a little sacrifice can go a long way.. I really like how the illustrations are done and how the text stands out against them making it easy to read and follow.

The Misfits

The Misfits was an awesome book to read I really enjoyed it. I can understand why it is a controversial book because of the issues that it discusses and the stereotypes it includes. I think that the most shocking part of the book is the ending when Joe and Colin go to the dance together. This part of the book really caught me by surprise because i just thought it was a little too far fetched and took away from the meaning of the book. I did enjoy the fact that the author went as far as having them go to the dance together but I feel it took away from the realistic feel of the book. I do not see a problem in teaching this book in elementary schools. I think it is important to expose children to these issues at a young age because as time goes on it is becoming more common for things like homosexuality to be present in elementary schools. This book hits on many other issues but the discussion of homosexuality can be a touchy subject in High Schools across the United States let alone elementary schools. I feel this would be something that parents would really have a hard time dealing with if their child came home and talked about a book they were reading with two boys going to a dance together. I think this topic is very interesting and this book will hopefully lead me to find other books with controversial topics that are read in elementary schools nation wide.

Kiki by: Hilda Perera

This is a story for upper elementary students about a Cuban boy named Kiki and his "adventures in America." It is a great story because it tells all about Kiki's experiences in America and has a lot of cultural relevance according with diversity. It tells stories about his struggles and hopes and dreams and everything else and how difficult it is for him as a Cuban in America. This would be a great book for children to read because it deals with cultural identity and America's notion of the "melting pot" and how that can affect people's lives. I really enjoyed reading it and think it could be very beneficial to teach to children about diversity. I also think it is great because a lot of times we talk about African-Americans and Mexicans in America but we tend to overlook children from other minority groups. I think this book would be a good way to introduce a lot of other cultural groups into the classroom discussions of diversity as well because no one really thinks of Cuban-Americans when discussing race and culture in the U.S.

The Naked Lady by: Ian Wallace

I chose this book because of the title, I thought to myself why in the world would a children's book be called "The Naked Lady" because obviously at first glance you'd think that would be inappropriate. But the story ends up being about an old man who is a sculpture and an artist who teaches a young boy about his artwork. The old man and the boy become very close and eventually spend a lot of time together working on art. The end of the book is directly from the author who tells this story because the old man, Pieter is who he considers his first art teacher and sparked a life long love of art in him. I think this book is great because of the touching story it tells and also because it could get children to think that maybe they would like to become artists. I think in elementary school art is seen now as something we shouldn't put as much emphasis on as math, science, and reading but it is still very important in education. I think art is an important part of being an individual and this book may help a few kids realize how much they enjoy and appreciate art and what it can do for their lives.

If I Built a Car by: Chris Van Dusen

This was a very entertaining read and I really enjoyed it. The first thing you'll notice when reading this one is that it rhymes. I think this makes it very fun for children to read and also teaches them about rhyming and flow and syllable counts. The book is about a child's fantasy of building his own car and how outrageous it would be. I think it would spark imagination in children and would make a good bridge to an activity of designing their own car. This type of book can really give a child lots of ideas and things they would want to create themselves. The pictures in the book are absolutely awesome, very close attention to detail and imaginative. It really makes a good portrait of what the child is seeing as he is talking about building his own car. This too could lead to an activity of having the children write about a car and then draw a picture of it. A great read and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you were going to start a unit on poetry or just emphasize rhyme and the effect it can have on a story.

Max's Starry Night by: Ken Wilson-Max

Max's Starry Night caught my attention because the picture of the boy on the front of the book is black. I thought this was great because the majority of children's books feature white children and do not show much diversity. This story was about Max and his friends and how when one of them was scared the other made fun of him, but he shouldn't. It has a good moral value in that sense that it is trying to teach young children that everyone is different and being scared of something isn't a bad thing because most people are scared of something. It says in the book ages 2-6 so it is likely meant to be a read aloud but I think that children up to third grade could probably read this book and get something out of it. I noticed two other Max books on the shelf and it is good to see that a black child is the main character in these books because of the importance of exploring diversity at a young age.

Good Morning China by: Hu Yong Yi

This was a pretty neat book about activities done by people in China at seven o'clock in the morning. It goes through and tells you that some people are stretching, others dancing, others playing cards, and so on. Then at the end of the book it has a page that folds out into a much bigger page and says everyone is at the park, it shows all of the people it has already discussed doing those activities next to each other in the park. The illustrations are really interesting because they are soft, water color like, and very plain. Which I don't think would bode very well to young readers but I guess it might because it is probably so much different than they are used to seeing. I found the book interesting and glad it threw in the page at the end that expanded because it made the book a little more fun.

A New House for Mole and Mouse by: Harriet Siefert

A New House for Mole and Mouse was a very basic and simple picture book about a house that these two creatures lived in. The book was very repetitive and repeated "Everything works just fine" very often, as they went through the house and tested different things out they emphasized that they worked just fine. It was an ok read, definitely intended for a young audience most likely kindergarten through second grade maybe. The illustrations were pretty good and the repetitiveness probably would help young readers follow along. The end of the story is something that would make children laugh as the mouse gets carried aways by balloons and the mole has to pop them to get him down. It was a decent read and kind of entertaining. Not one to get too excited about.

The Giver by: Lois Lowry

The Giver was a great book, absolutely awesome. The story of the boy who lives in a seemingly perfect world but then is seemingly flipped upside down when he is given his assignment which consists of receiving all the communities memory from the man they call the Giver. The book does an incredible job making the reader think deep about life in general and all of the things we believe in. It is interesting that the book was so entertaining for me as a college student and really made me think, and that it can have the same effect on a younger student. The book gives an interesting outlook on things like love, pain, and relationships. The real moral of the story you would think would be more directed at older students perhaps in high school, students ready to take on the real world and need to think about the things discussed in the book. But I think that this would be a great book to read aloud or have young children read because of it's great moral value. I do not think the book would be seen as controversial unless people saw it as too advanced for young children to read and try to comprehend. The great task of Johna and the Giver to reveal these great emotions and truths to actual existence is a daunting one, but it does show children readers that they can do anything they want in life and I think would give inspiration to young children to do things with their lives because of what they want and not to conform to society's wants. The deep meaning of the lessons talked about in The Giver would be fantastic things to talk about as a class or have students write about their own ideas and get them thinking about their future. I loved this book and everything it has to offer educationally, teachable moments is a big part of this book and I think it is very useful to talk about the things discussed in the book with young children.

Billy the Kid by: Theodore Taylor

Billy the Kid is kind of a tall tale but still considered a non-fiction book. This is definitely a more advanced novel for older elementary school children and even up into junior high or possibly even high school. It is a long and challenging read but most certainly a good one. There are little known "facts" about Billy the Kid but hearing his story is entertaining and interesting even for the most advanced readers. It tells the tale of a young cowboy who terrified everyone he came into contact with and even though he was so young was the most feared cowboy in town. The legend of Billy the Kid is a fascinating one that young kids will be interested in. This is a good read but is not for readers who have trouble holding attention or need pictures to help them along. Due to the length of the book which is well over 150 pages it will likely be a book you could assign to children to read over a good length of time and maybe do responses chapter by chapter. A challenging book but a great story, check it out.

Trains by: Anne Rockwell

I chose this book because I know that Anne Rockwell has written hundreds of children's books and I hadn't blogged about one yet. Trains is a really simple book about trains that is intended for small children. I really enjoyed reading it because it is easy and fun. The illustrations go right along with the pictures which would make it really easy for a child to follow along and relate what they are reading to what they see. I think that is a good skill for young children to learn and it will help them in the development of reading and moving on to more advanced picture books. I really enjoy Anne Rockwell's literature and this one is something I could see myself reading to my nephew because he is two and is obsessed with trains. I think she does a good job of writing about things she knows children are interested in and that fascinate them.

All Bout Sharks by: Jim Arnosky

I chose this book because I read an older non-fictional book about sharks this week as well and I wanted to see how they differed. All About Sharks was a great book full of lots of information and pictures. As important as the information was the way the information is portrayed is even more important. The layout of the book was great with all the pictures and statistics being intertwined. It gives the reader a chance to stray away from informational books that are just in long paragraph form and throw a lot of information at you at once. It gives the information species by species and gives pictures and side notes about each one. This type of informational book gives readers a great chance to learn about something and also have fun doing it. I am fascinated with sharks and wildlife and I think that stemmed from enjoying reading about them as a child and I hope that children would read this book and maybe pick up an interest. I feel like anything this book talked about, due to the way it was laid out, would give a children some kind of spark or interest in the subject. The author did a great job and I am interested if he has written any other books similar to this on different animals or subjects.

How Many Teeth? by: Paul Showers

I really really really enjoyed this book. It was perfect to explain the process of growing and losing your teeth to young children. It starts off with a baby and says she has no teeth, then moves to a toddler who has 6 teeth, then to a boy who has 20 teeth, then to grown ups who have 32 teeth. It is a really interesting way to go about giving information about this. It has great language and even has a rhyming scheme that makes it more fun to read. This would work great for children to read or even as a read aloud by a parent or teacher. It has great illustrations that are eye-catching and even show the actual process of losing and growing teeth. I really recommend this book and think it is a lot of fun. It is interesting that the other informational books I have read this week were more geared towards an older elementary school student and this one is definitely directed at children of younger ages. This showed me that informational books do not only have to be for older children and can be as simple as how many teeth have have. 2 thumbs up.

Australian Dinosaurs by: Marilyn Pride

Australian Dinosaurs was definitely not the type of book I thought it would be when I looked at the cover. I expected it to go through the dinosaurs and give pictures and brief descriptions and characteristics. Instead it was extremely in depth and gave a wealth of information about each dinosaur to the point where it was overwhelming. To be perfectly honest after I read about half of the book I had to put it away because the amount of information they gave was just too much, and if it was too much for me I can imagine it would be too much for the 7-11 recommended age group the book was intended for. Also the language used was hard to understand and some of the words were hard for me to pronounce or comprehend so I doubt a seven year old would be able to get through much of the book. It would perhaps work as a read along but I still feel that the amount of information given is too vast for a child to understand fully. The pictures are nice but the font is so small that it makes the length of it overwhelming. If you want to go strictly on volume of information I guess it is good but other than that this is not a book I would read to a child or have them attempt to read on their own.

The Great White Shark by: Carl Green & William Sanford

This is an older book and clearly is intended for a slightly older elementary school student. It starts out with a short story about an encounter with a great white shark, then as the book goes on it turns into an informational book. It gives facts and statistics about great white sharks and also shows actual photographs of the sharks. I think this would be an interesting book for children to read that were interested in wildlife and in particular sharks. I think that sharks are such an unknown creature to us because of the area we live in that most people have little information about them. A common theme among people is being afraid of sharks because of their lack of knowledge. I think that books like this for children can be very helpful because they give children useful information about subjects they otherwise wouldn't learn about except from television. This type of informational book can be very beneficial to a young child and also may start a hobby or interest they will carry throughout their lives.

The Class Trip from the Black Lagoon by: Mike Thaler

This was a very entertaining novel by Mike Thaler. It was all about a class trip that a little boy was going to take. For almost half the book it just builds the trip up and talks about how much fun the trip is going to be even though he doesn't know where they are going or what they are going to do. Then when finally find out where they are going the story gets really wild. They go on quite a voyage in an airplane and then they parachute then they trudge through the jungle. The author does a really good job of giving the reader a visual image of what's going on and what everything looks like. He also uses word play throughout the book that is very original and makes it more interesting to read. He plays on things like Pizza Mutt instead of Pizza Hut and when talking about watching for animal droppings he says hippo-potty-mess. These kinds of things can help keep children interested in reading the book and makes it more fun for them. I really do think children in elementary school would enjoy this book because I know I enjoyed reading it and thought it was entertaining. The best part is the creativity and imaginativeness involved with the book. First of all because of the child in the book's imagination and more importantly because it gives good cues and prompts to get the reader to imagine what it would be like. I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it!

Black Cat by: Christopher Myers

Black Cat was an interesting book that basically just tells the travels of a stray black cat. It goes through and repeats the phrase "Black cat, black cat, we want to know where's your home, where do you go?" periodically throughout the book and then shows where he goes during the day and night. The pictures are absolutely amazing, they look so much like photographs in some spots and then clearly painted in others which creates an interesting balance and is very eye catching. The main reason I chose this book is because as I was first looking through it I noticed that it seems to be in poem form which is interesting. It has miniature stanza type things on each page and for some reason to me reads like a poem. It would be a good book for children to see if they made that connection between the layout of the book and if it was a poem or not. I plan on taking this to my reading buddy and seeing if she enjoys it as much as I do.

The Magic Rabbit by: Annette LeBlanc Cate

This was a really interesting book. It was about a magician and his best friend/assistant bunny. They played a show and after an accident they became separated from each other. All the bunny wanted to do was to get home and finally he followed a trail that lead him back to his magician and it had a really nice ending. The illustrations and format of the book were very interesting and not something I have encountered much in reading children's literature. The book was in all black and white with shading except for the stars used by the magician, they were a bright yellow. The color scheme was nice too with the title on the cover being yellow and the pages on the inside front and back both being yellow. It had a nice touch, but I'm not convinced that a child would really enjoy the illustrations. The story was also a little sad and kind of slow, but I think it does show a good message about friendship and how important it can be to people.

T-Rex Trick or Treats by: Lois G. Grambling

I wasn't very intrigued by this book. It was a story of Halloween and how T-Rex wanted to be something scary but he realized all of his friends were wearing what he wanted to so he just walked around with a big frown on his face all night. No one thought he was scary with the frown on his face, but as the night went on and he got candy he started to smile. Then at the end his friends and other trick or treaters tell him how scary he looks when he smiles because his big sharp teeth are sticking out. I thought it was kind of a boring read and didn't bring out much in me as a reader. I don't think children would really enjoy this story or be able to relate to it very well. The only thing they could get out of it is that it's better to be happy than walk around with a frown on your face all day but that is such an elementary concept I don't think it would do the children any good.

Out of the Ballpark by: Alex Rodriguez

This was a fascinating book written by professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez. It is a fictional story about winning his little league team a championship by hitting a game winning grand slam. It is interesting to see such a huge superstar writing a children’s book but also very cool. The illustrations are amazing and really kind to the eye. The best thing about the book was a note that Alex wrote to the readers at the end of the book. He talks about his commitment to baseball and also his hard work in school. He gives good advice like studying hard, staying away from drugs, and showing respect for his friends and elders. It is cool that he would mention those things instead of just talking about working hard on the baseball diamond. Another cool part of the book is the actual photographs of him and his family and friends at the end of the book. That kind of thing gives the reader a real sense of who the author is and makes the story seem more important and the author more concrete and realistic.

Snake Alley Band by: Elizabeth Nygaard

This was a nice book about a snake and his snake band. They really loved to be an all snake band but when he found himself without his fellow snakes and hearing noises from all different animals he didn’t think they sounded like a band. He rejected it because it didn’t sound like he was used to. But he was soon to realize that the noises the other animals made helped them sound different than everyone else and that different was good. The moral is that there can be many parts to make something different and unique and that can be a good thing. The illustrations were entertaining and also the noises that the animals make would be fun to sound out for a child. They would also be fun for an adult reading to a child to be able to be interactive with the child and also entertain them. This would be a great book to read to children when teaching about diversity and other issues that would go along with that.

Widdermaker by: Pattie Schnetzler

Widdermaker is a fantastic story about a dominant bull that is ridden in rodeos. The title of the book is very interesting because it is clearly a play on the word widowmaker, which could be a little graphic for young children to understand. I was also intrigued by the fact that it says the book is for kindergarten through fourth graders because that seems like such a huge range for a single book. But after reading it I understood how this book would be enjoyable for younger children and at the same time a good read for children up to fourth grade. The pictures were incredible and loud and eye catching and any other good words you could use to describe them. They had great attention to detail and really told a story behind the story. This was a great story because it starts with him being big and bad and ends with him being nice just like everyone else. I would definitely want to read this to a child because it would be entertaining and fun for both of us.

Mother Hen by: Lilian McCrea

Following a similar theme for what I chose to read this week I chose this classic book by Lilian McCrea. This is a fantastic read along for young children. It isn't for children to read but there is real educational value as you're teaching children about different animals and the relationships those animals had with each other. It tells such a nice story that you really can't go wrong with this book. I also appreciated the illustrations in the book because they were very large and simple which make it easier for small children to understand. It also emphasizes friendship and relationship among different creatures which can teach life lessons to children and instill good values in them. A good read, worth your while.

I love You, Stinky Face by: Lisa McCourt

I chose this book because of how young the children were that you were supposed to read this to. It is ages 2 to 5 and definitely a read aloud book. I really enjoyed it because I could hear my mom's voice as I read it and got a good visual of me sitting in bed before I went to sleep. The illustrations were absolutely amazing and the consistency of the book was great for little children too. It was repetitive but not in the sense that it would be boring for children to hear. It is funny because as I mentioned when I was reading it I could picture my mom reading it to me when I was little and then the very last picture is a Mom tucking her child into bed. It is very imaginative and gives lots of opportunities to teach for whoever is reading to the child. This would be a great book to read to a small child because not only would they enjoy it, you would as well.

Thanks, Mom by: Ed Emberly

This book was definitely intended for very young children. It doesn't even seem like a book children would read, more of a book you would read to a child. It has a lot of repetition and the pictures are the main focus of the book. It says ages 3 to 6 so I checked it out to see how much different it was than one for ages 4 to 8, and the differences are vast. This book was weird because there is no way a 3 to 6 year old could read it. It used the word delicious several times which clearly a young child like that would not be able to read. It seems very basic and does not really have any educational value. Overall, I would maybe recommend it for a very young children just to give them a little entertainment. The pictures are really good and they use both pages as one image which was kind of cool but that's about it.

Uncle Lester's Hat by: Howie Schneider

This was a really enjoyable book about a little boy's Uncle Wilfred who sat around all day and watched TV because he said he didn't need to go anywhere because he could see it all without leaving his chair. Then they started to tell about Uncle Wilfred's Uncle Lester and how he didn't have TV so he had to see everything for himself. Eventually Uncle Wilfred goes out and sees the world and comes back to tell the little boy his stories. The moral of the book promotes going out and seeing things for yourself and experiencing things first hand instead of just through the eyes of others. The illustrations were very entertaining especially because they covered most of the page. The pictures did a really good job of illustrating what was going on in the book and helped tell the story. I enjoyed this book and plan on reading it for a little girl for my other class. It was funny and entertaining, check it out.

The Legend of Red Horse Cavern by: Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen delivered again with another great children's novel. This book was very intriguing and tells a tail of Will and Sarah's journey into an eerie cave and their adventures while inside. His word usage and sentence structure are great and will definitely challenge kids while still holding their attention. His novels usually follow a similar format with lots of relatively short paragraphs which holds true in this short novel. This can be an effective method because I remember being in elementary school and being proud that I just read a book with 10 or more chapters. It keeps the child interested because they feel a sense of accomplishment every time they finish a chapter. I recommend this book to older elementary school students and think this and other Gary Paulsen classics are great to teach children how to analyze books and do reports on them. A good read with steady flow and enough mystery to keep even the most advanced children interested.

Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb by: Francesca Simon

This was a pretty good book. It has four chapters and they all tell a different story. It is advanced enough to challenge readers at a young age around 8. The stories are very active and entertaining and I think children would be very involved in the book. It is just a book about a little boy named Horrid Henry and some of his adventures. Each tells a slightly different tale but they don't really have any ethical or moral value, but i don't think they need to. The illustrations are a little boring but that is good because then the student focuses more on the reading than the pictures. I recommend this book because children at a young age will enjoy it because of it's humor and how it relates to them.

Go, Dog. Go!

I love Go, Dog. Go! I remember reading it over and over as a kid and it never got old. It has good pictures and awesome rhyming and rhythm. It is a very simple book and probably better for younger kids like preschool through first grade but most likely still enjoyable for children up to age 9. The book starts off very basic and as it goes along the sentences and words become more advanced so it is good for keeping children's attention. There is no real moral value but it is still an enjoyable read. Definitely check it out.

My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks by: Hanoch Piven

This was a really good book. It shows children to express themselves and helps them be creative when thinking about their family members and their personalities. It has great pictures and is something that you could use for an activity. I really enjoyed it and might even take it to the kids I am helping out this semester. I recommend this book and the activities in it because of the imagination and creativity it promotes.

The Dog Who Had Kittens by: Polly M. Robertus

The Dog Who Had Kittens was a nice children's book. It is about a male dog who took care of the family cat's kittens when she needed to get away and ended up getting very attached to them. At first the family and the kittens' mother did not trust him because he was a dog, but showing good values he really cared for them and eventually the family trusted him. It teaches children that just because you are different than someone it doesn't mean you can't help them and care for them as if they were the same as you.

Somewhere In Africa by: Ingrid Mennen

Somewhere In Africa was kind of a boring book and I don't think it would be great for children to read. It is kinda of boring and the illustrations aren't colorful and interesting enough for kids to be intrigued by. The lesson in the book was weird, it was about the side of Africa people don't see, like the city side. It went through a little about the wild life and then talked about a boy walking around the city. It didn't really have any rhyme or reason which is the main reason I didn't really enjoy it, it just kind of went through with random facts. Overall I wouldn't recommend anyone having their students read it.

The Scallywags by: David Melling

I thought Scallywags was a great book. The illustrations and use of vocabulary were interesting and kept my attention throughout the book. It had a good message about being yourself and how individuals add to a group and make it a whole. It teaches kids to be themselves and that they don't have to conform to a group or try to be better than people because it is better to be who you are than you people want you to be.