Bird Talk

By Lita Judge

This book has an almost poetic feel for some of the pages. The author mentions in the back cover that she always wanted to know what birds were saying. This book is completely about birds and what they're calls mean. Some birds boast things like, "I'm the strongest," or say things like "pick me!" The pages include all kids of different birds and and how they communicate. Penguins learn the sound of each others voices to communicate between family members. A flamingo peeps before it has even hatched!

I liked this book a lot. The pages were full of a lot of information, but were accompanied by very interesting text. The book is very wordy, but not to the point where I wouldn't introduce it in and early elementary classroom. It's also just full of really cool facts! I think the majority of the pieces of information in this text would be interesting to most kids. I've always wondered what makes birds communicate the way they do, and this book explains it all.

Forest Explorer

By Nic Bishop

This book has a really interesting take on nature! Every other page spread is a high quality picture of a scene you would normally see in a forest. There are some of the forest floor, or tree tops, or the forest at night. The next page spread is a full field journal that explains everything going on in the picture before, bolding the names of animals in the image. The field journal also explains each of the animals. It tells about them, and when and where you are most likely to find them.

The book is very heavy on text. In the field journals, the text takes up the entire two page spread. But the pictures are amazing. I would have this in a classroom of any age just for the pictures. Younger grades don't need to know that what they're looking at isn't just a caterpillar but a orange-striped oakworm caterpillar. It would be a great addition to the classroom when talking about any animals or insects in science.

A Seed is Sleepy

By Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrated by Sylvia Long

This book is another informational book. It is much different than the others I have read so far. It combines information with creative writing which creates a very inviting poem about seeds and their life cycle. Page to page the book tells about another quality of a seed and explains the quality, gives information about the seed, and shows different kinds of seeds. It gives pictures around the outside of the poetry with labels so the reader knows which kind of seed they are looking at.

One thing I love about this book, is that it personifies the seed. "A seed is sleepy, A seed is secretive." It gives the seed human qualities which gives a very different perspective on the seeds. To me, a seed is a seed. But to Dianna Hutts Aston, a seed is sleepy and secretive, and intuitive. She looks at the way a seed develops and relates it to us. The text is also written in a beautiful cursive and it flows across the page. It invites the reader to keep going. It makes the reader feel the seed, and feel its many qualities. This would be a great book to use to teach plant life cycles.

Hurricanes!

By Gail Gibbons

This book is an informational text about hurricanes. It describes everything you could want to know about hurricanes from what they are and how they form, to the different categories and effects of each. The illustrations are extremely kid friendly and give an accurate representation of hurricanes. Some of the pictures even have labels that correspond to the text which ties it together very nicely! The book also gives really interesting information as far as the history of hurricanes go. I learned that the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale was created in 1972. It also talked about the names of hurricanes and how they're determined.

This is a great book to use during weather units. It even has a little checklist for what to do in the case of a hurricane. This would make kids feel so informed about hurricanes. I know I even learned so much from this book. I absolutely loved the illustrations. I think the way the captions and the labels work with the illustrations provides such an interesting, informational experience. I would love to use this book!

Just a Second

By Steve Jenkins

This book is an informational children's book. It's tagline reads: "A different way to look at time." That's exactly what is provided with this book. Each page is a list of things that happen within a unit of time, seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months, and years. For example, in one second, a rattlesnake shakes its tail in warning 60 times. Jenkins also provides some of the history of the measurement of time with each page.

I could see kids pouring over this book during reading time. It holds so many interesting things that kids can learn about. I don't think we realize much about the speed in which things happen in nature. The amount of times a bird flaps its' wings, or a bat sends high pitched calls. The story also includes lengths of travel in a certain amount of time for animals and for planes. Obviously being an informational book, it doesn't read like a story, but it introduces measurements of time in an increasing interval. You have a few pages of seconds, then minutes, then hours, and so on. It has a logical sequence ending with some of the world's oldest living animals. It also includes a lifespan timeline and a history of time and timekeeping timeline as well. It proves to be very informational, but it is presented in a fun and exciting way. I would love to have this in my library for students to read. I think it would also be a great one to pull out during time units in math!

Seedfolks

By Paul Fleischman

Seedfolks is a great story about immigration, fitting in, and making an unusual place feel like home. It is told in multiple points of view, and not a single one is repeated. It's the story of people from all over becoming family, and an empty lot becoming a garden. It's a great way to show that you can grow something out of nothing. 

This book is a great story to use in the classroom. It's not a very long book, and has a very simple story line to follow. It would be great for beginning chapter books. I personally read this book in the seventh grade during our immigration unit in social studies. I think this is a great story to use alongside of immigration. It would be a great book to use as a read aloud as well as a book club book. What I thought was so interesting was that the book is told from so many different perspectives. Not one of them is ever repeated, but the characters appear in each others' tales, sometimes with names and sometimes without. But based on the previous testimonies, you know who is who by the end of the book regardless of the fact that we've only heard from them once. By the end of the story, a picture is forming of who is who in the garden. We get to know what each character plants and why. Some plant things from their home countries, this could launch an interesting discussion of culture in the classroom! I very much enjoyed the book, and I see many ways it could be used in the classroom. 

The Dark

By Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Jon Klassen

This is the story of a boy who is afraid of the dark. But the dark lives with Laszlo. Most of the time, the dark spent its time in the basement. But at night, the dark would come out, all around Laszlo's house. One night, Laszlo's night light went out, and the dark visited him in his bedroom. The dark leads Laszlo all the way to the basement, where he finds a new light bulb for his night light. There is a great passage towards the end of the story that explains that there is no reason to be afraid of the dark. The dark is there because without a roof, rain would fall on your bed, and with a window, you couldn't see outside, and so on.

I would love to use this book in the classroom. Especially for children who are afraid of the dark! This is a great story to show them that there is nothing to be scared of. Laszlo never has trouble with the dark again, and if students know there is nothing to be afraid of, they won't either.

The Tunnel

By Anthony Browne

This story beings with a brother and sister who are very different and do not get along. One day, their mother is fed up with their fighting and bickering and sends them outside to play together. The brother and sister go to a waste ground. The boy is frustrated because he doesn't want to spend time with his sister. Before long, he finds a tunnel and tells his sister to follow him through it. She was scared so instead she waited for him to come out. When he does not, she follows him through the tunnel and through a scary forest.

The illustration in this story are beautiful! It reminded me of Into the Forest because the trees in the forest the sister walks through are very similar. They show wolves and other scary things. Anthony Browne does a fantastic job with his realistic illustrations that make the forest in this story come alive!

Piggybook

By Anthony Browne

This story is an interesting one for a children's book. It begins with a father and two sons who live in a nice house, with a nice garden, and have a nice car in the nice garage. However, the tone quickly changes when they begin talking about mom. Mrs. Piggott constantly does all the chores and is talked down to. One day, she decides to leave. She leaves a note that says "You are pigs." The father and sons are forced to fend for themselves, and they don't do a very good job. The illustrations add another layer of tone to this story. The pictures of the father and sons are bright, happy, and colorful. Those of Mrs. Piggott are dark and dreary. You never see her face, and she is never in an illustration with her family. We don't see Mrs. Piggott in color, or in the same frame as her family until she returns and they beg her forgiveness.

I thought this was an interesting topic for a children's book. I wouldn't have normally expected it. During the time when Mrs. Piggott leaves, her family become illustrated as pigs. I think this part of the story will have children laughing!

Willy the Dreamer

By Anthony Browne

This story is about a little monkey who is a big dreamer. We see that Willy dreams all sorts of things from being a famous actor to flying! The language is simple, but the illustrations bring the story to life. Many of the illustrations seem to be based in famous paintings, changing them to fit Willy's dream. Not only are the illustrations different, but they are also very elaborate!

I would love to see this book used in lower elementary classrooms. The language is simple enough, but the pictures suggest so much more. Students would see that there is so much they could do, if they dream it. In the back of the book, Anthony Browne says this book is his very own day dream book. It would be fun for students to have a "day dream" book too. It would be about all that they are, and all they want to be.

Voices in The Park

By Anthony Browne

This story is extremely interesting! It begins with a woman talking about her dog and her son to the park. You get an idea that she is very well to do because when they arrive at the park, she gets very frustrated by another dog bothering her dog. She describes the other dog as a "scruffy mongrel." She then goes on to realize that her son is missing and finds him talking to "a very rough looking child." They immediately go home. Then, the story begins again, but, it's from a different point of view. The story repeats a total of four times, each time from another point a view. We hear from her son, the "rough looking child" and the child's father. It's a great story to show how people view things differently. It's always interesting to think of something from another point of view!

I would love to use this in my classroom. I think it would require some discussion before hand. I personally got a little confused the first time I read it. But it would be a great idea to take this story, talk about multiple perspectives, and then read it a few times. I also think it would be a great activity to do a little bit of reader's theater with this book to bring it to life in the classroom. You could perform the book each of the four ways and get all of the children in the class involved!

The Higher Power of Lucky

By Susan Patron
Winner of the 2007 Newberry Medal

Lucky is a ten year old girl living in the desert of California. Lucky is not your typical ten year old. She is living with her father's first wife because her mother died when she was eight and her father never wanted a kid. Brigitte is from France, and flew into California the day after Lucky's mom died to take care of her. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but they have been living together in Hard Pan for two years and Lucky is constantly worried that Brigitte is going to leave her to go back to France. When Luck finds some hard evidence that Brigitte is leaving, she is forced to take drastic measures to show Brigitte how much she needs her.

I thought this book was very interesting. It definitely lived up to the theme of realistic fiction. I had never heard of realistic fiction being a genre which made me interested in what this book would hold. What I read was the story of a confused ten year old who feels slightly neglected by her family and constantly worried about losing her Guardian. These are real fears for children of in foster care. I like that this book gives those fears a voice. Children in that situation will really relate to Lucky's struggle, and her search to find her higher power. I'd love to see this used in a classroom discussion. It would be a great book for talking about emotions that you don't always read about.

You Can't Take a Balloon Into The Metropolitan Museum

By Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser

This story, like the other wordless stories I have read, is another adventure. A little girl and her grandmother are going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the girl is told by the guard at the door that she can't bring her balloon into the museum. He ties it on a railing so she can get it on the way out. Within a few minutes of her going inside, the balloon is untied by a bird and the bird begins to fly away. The guard chases the bird, recruiting many friends along the way to retrieve the balloon. At the end of the story there are thirteen people, one elephant, and three dogs assisting the guard in his quest for the balloon. Luckily at the end, the balloon is caught and rightfully returned to the little girl on her way out of the museum.

Throughout the book there are a few things that I noticed. On each page, the only people in color are the little girl, her grandmother, the guard, and whoever is following him or will be joining the ever growing balloon group. The balloon starts at the Met, goes to Central Park, the Zoo, the Plaza, and the Metropolitan Opera House. On each page, the balloon gets further away and more people join the group including a zoo keeper, a dog walker, a figure skating team, a couple getting married in the plaza, a porter, three members of the opera, one member of the orchestra, and elephant and a mime. As well as playing with color, the members of the team also recreate eighteen famous paintings and sculptures on their quest to get the balloon back. The details in this book are amazing and really add to the story! Students would love this book because of the humor, adventure, and getting to see the real works of art next to the recreations. It would be a great addition to the classroom!

Sector 7

By David Wiesner
Caldecott Honor Book

This story starts before we even see the title page with a boy drawing fish on the fogged up window of a school bus. The school bus takes the children to the Empire State Building on a field trip. They are taken up to the observatory to look over the city. However, the fog is so dense that it's hard to see. The clouds are all around the Empire State Building. In one cloud we begin to see a face as he steals our main character's hat, gloves and scarf. The cloud and the boy become friends, and the boy rides with the could to the Sector 7 Could Dispatch Center. The inside is much like a train station with clouds coming and going where they're told by the workers. The workers tell the clouds in the assignment center, how large and what shape they should be. Instead, the boy draws his own drawings of different kinds of fish for the clouds to be. The workers see the shapes of the clouds and get very upset. The boy is sent back to Manhattan where he is reunited with his classmates. However, for the rest of that day, all the clouds are of his design.

This story had some of the most beautiful pictures. The magnificence of the outside of the Cloud Dispatch Center reminded me of the Polar Express. It's big, and very impressive. The story encourages such creativity that I would love to see it used in an elementary classroom. It would remind kids to always use their creativity no matter what anyone tells you.

The Hero of Little Street

By Gregory Rogers

This books is another wordless book by Gregory Rogers. The main character is the same boy from The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard. This time, the story beings in Trafalgar Square where the little boy is playing by himself. He gets hit in the head with a soccer ball and kicks it into one of the fountains to the dismay of the boys who had been playing with it. They chase him around the square and he hides in the line to get into the National Gallery. Once inside he beings looking around. We see portraits and statues, including a portrait of Shakespeare who is mysteriously holding a soccer ball. While he walks through the museum, a dog in a portrait catches his eye. The dog comes out of the painting and licks his head. The boy and the dog run through the museum together and go through another portrait ending up in a woman's house in Holland. She give them gifts and shows them outside where they roam the streets of Delft, Holland, ending up in a butcher shop with a very angry butcher. The butcher ends up in a canal and the boy and the dog return to the National Gallery. The dog says goodbye to his new friend and jumps back into his painting. The little boy walks out of the museum and back into Trafalgar Square.

This story was beautiful. It showed some of the amazing architect and canals of Holland that were lovely. Like the book before it, this story has some wonderful historical merit and would be a great addition to any class studying history!

The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard

By Gregory Rogers

This wordless picture book takes place in two completely different times. It begins with a boy who is playing with his soccer ball and accedentially kicks it through a window. The boy goes to retrieve it and finds himself in an old theater. After playing around with the set, the boy finds a room of costumes. He tries many on before settling on an outfit from the Elizabethan era. He walks onto the stage only to be transported to the stage of the Globe Theater in London during the Elizabethan era! Due to the shock of the audience, a very grumpy Shakespeare comes out from backstage and chases the boy through London. In the process the boy sets free a bear, a baron and meets the Queen of England. When the Bard, Shakespeare finds the boy again, he rushes back to the Globe, runs back stage and is back in the old theater, though missing his cloak.

This story is wonderful! The pictures are shown in many different forms. Originally it looks like a comic book with many different frames on a page. As we get to England, more of the pages are taken up by the landscape and the scenery. It also includes many historical references such as the Tower of London. The bear and the boy get into the Tower and free the Baron. To get out, they go through Traitor's Gate and escape in a boat onto the River Thames. It could be used in a class of any age due to it's story and historical value!

The Conductor

By Laetitia Devernay

This book is a wordless book. The cover shows a man atop what looks to me like a tree, holding a conductor's baton which is pointing towards what look like birds. The birds look to be flying away, and their feathers are simliar to the leaves on the trees on the cover. When the story starts, the man walks into the page and looks up at the "trees"which are much taller than him. I personally get the idea that these "trees" are dandelions and this man looks to be the size of Thumbelina in the movie. The conductor climbs up atop the highest dandelion, looks around, and raises his baton. And suddenly birds are leaving the "trees" the leaves becoming their wings. On some pages there are many different birds, and on others there are few of the same type. I could hear the music of spring in my head as I flipped the page based on which birds were on the page. It reminded me of when I would blow on a dandelion in spring and watch the seeds fly around me. As suddenly as it started, the composition ends, the birds return to the tree and the composer lets his baton fall, and takes his bow. As he climbs down the tree, he plants a new seed which is ready to bloom with the rest for the next time the conductor returns.

I think this would be a beautiful book to show children in the spring time. It would be great to make the connection between the seasons, pictures, and music. Day to day life is a composition, and this book excellently shows the composter of spring.

Princess Academy

By Shannon Hale
Newberry Honor Book

This story is a very unique twist on the classic princess fairy tale. The usual prince meeting the love of his life who is actually a peasant girl is not present in this story. Instead, our main character Miri lives atop Mount Eskel, a mountain far above the kingdom and not often thought of by the rest of the country. Whenever a prince is ready to marry in Danland, the name of our kingdom, the priests predict the location of the princess to be. This time around, Mount Eskel is chosen and an academy is set up to whip the rough mountain girls into shape. Miri along with the rest of the girls in her village are taken to the academy and are taught how to be princesses. In the process they learn about each other, valuable knowledge that would help their village, and about the rest of the kingdom. When bandits overtake the academy, Miri forces the girls to work together to save each other and their village.

This story was not at all what I expected! Once I really got into the story, it was quite difficult to put it down! I could easily see girls in upper elementary loving this book. It has a very powerful female role model who works hard and ends up making her entire town proud of her. I recently found there is a sequel to this story. It would be great to get upper elementary girls together to read the books and have book club! This would be a fantastic discussion book club book.

Moon Over Manifest

By Clare Vanderpool
Newberry Award Winner


This book begins with Abilene Tucker on a train. Exactly the place where she feels the most at home. Except one very important thing is missing. Her father Gideon Tucker has stayed behind. He told his daughter that the railroad tracks were not the place for a young lady, and sent her to live with someone he trusted. She was on the train headed for Manifest, Kansas, where her father grew up. Shady picks her up from the train station and welcomes her into his home. Abilene has heard stories about Manifest and her father's childhood. But it soon becomes clear that no one can tell her much about her father's boyhood. She heads on down the path to Perdition and meets an old "fortune teller" who helps her uncover stories from Manifest's rich past.

This story is a beautiful tale of a child figuring out who she is, and where she comes from. It would be a great example for a class about stories that are written in different times. Moon Over Manifest continually shifts from the past to the present to tell the story of Abilene and the town of Manifest. It takes place during both World War I and the Great Depression. These are two very important times in America's history, and you get to view them through the eyes of a small town in Kansas. It shows a lot about how people lived then, and how the war and the Great Depression effected a small country town. It's a great story and very well deserving of it's Newberry Award!

Rose Blanche

By Roberto Innocenti

This story gives the reader a unique view of World War II. The story is about a young girl who lives in Germany. She notices changes in her town as the war begins. She watches the soldiers come and go every day. Her mother tells her to be careful as she goes to school. One day she watches as a truck stops to repair is engine. A boy jumps from the back, a tries to run, but is stopped by the mayor. The boy is forced to return to the truck. Curious, Rose Blanche follows the truck all the way to a concentration camp. She has never seen anything like it and suddenly feels very cold and sad. She returns many times bringing the people in the camp food as the war continues. 

This would be an interesting book to use during study of World War II. It's unusual to see a book written about the Holocaust from the point of view of a German citizen. It's always a good idea to offer children different perspectives when studying a topic, and this book does just that!