Piper Reed: Navy Brat, by Kimberly Holt & illustrated by Christine Davenier

This is a good chapter book for early readers. Children who have just moved or are part of a military family would really be able to relate to the story. The book is a little but long (160 pages) but the simple text is meant for younger readers. The main character is 9, so I would say kids older than this would most likely think it was too immature for them.

The book tells a humorous story of a girl named Piper and her family. Her mother is a painter and her father is in the Navy, so the family is always traveling from place to place. Piper has to learn to adjust to a new place and finds a lot of adventure along the way.

The story talks about a lot of things that kids can relate to and seems to be very true to life - bossy older siblings, whiny younger siblings, disagreeing with parents, long car rides, meeting new friends, among some. I really enjoyed the book, as I read, I noticed that I was getting anxious to know what was coming next. Holt's descriptive writing style definitely pulls in the reader, and gets them involved in the text. The illustrations add a little bit to the story, and seem to match up with Piper's personality and what's happening in the story.

The Market Square Dog, by James Harriet & illustrated by Ruth Brown

This story is so touching. I can see how kids would really enjoy it, it sparks emotions and Harriet is able to create a bond with the reader/listener right off the bat. It is written in a simple and straightforward manner, which makes it easy for a child to understand and follow the progression of the story.

It tells the story of a frightened stray dog that lives on the Market Square, the people of the market are curious about the little dog, but the dog is too frightened to get near anyone. The dog is lonely and sad as it begs patrons of the market for a biscuit. One day the dog is injured with a broken leg and a veterinarian notices that the dog is in a lot of pain. Finally the dog realizes his need for a human companion, and the vet and his wife take the dog home to repair the dog's broken leg. When the dog is well, it goes back to the market until finally it is "arrested" by the police officer who was never before able to get close enough to the dog. In the end the dog goes home with the policeman, and we see the two daughters of the officer playing happily with the Market Square dog.

The dog was gentle all along, the people of the market just needed to give him a chance to prove it. I almost cried while reading this book, I just wanted someone to help the dog so badly!

The illustrations are very beautiful as well. They are realistic, detailed, and classic illustrations that are perfect for the mood of the story. I would recommend reading this in a lower elementary classroom to bring up the importance of being compassion.

Goop Tales: Alphabetically Told, by Gelett Burgess

Above is a page of Burgess' book, Goops and How to be Them, introducing the Goops.

Well, now that I have explained my infatuation with the stories of the Goops, I might as well blog about a Goop book. I never knew how many children's books Gelett Burgess had published. The one I read in my imaginary schoolhouse called Goops and How to be Them, was published in 1900. It is a collection of poems about misbehaving children. It is classified as a manual on manners and is supposed to teach kids manners using poems and small drawings about the horrible Goops as examples of BAD BEHAVIOR.

This "new" book (not really new, but new to me - published 1905) about the Goops, is even more similar to Ashman's M is for Mischief than the other book that initially sparked my curiosity in this whole thing. I wonder if Goop Tales was an inspiration for Ashman's humorous manners book??

Goop Tales is an alphabetical collection of poems about poor mannered children, the beginning letters of their names and behaviors correspond to a letter of the alphabet.

The book is so funny! I think that, even though the book is more than one hundred years old, the content and messages are still relevant and can be humorous as well! I'm definitely going to keep these on the shelf and continue my search for more of Burgess' children's books.

M is for Mischief: An A to Z of Naughty Children, by Linda Ashman & illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

I loved this book! It's hilarious! I remember reading this old fashioned book called Goops: and How to Be Them by Gelett Burgess when I was really little. I pretended I was in a one room schoolhouse, I read the old primer and other "old-looking" books my dad kept in his office, perhaps some I should not have read... Anyway, reading this book by Ashman took my right back to my Goop reading days in the "schoolhouse." The rhyming language, and extraordinary use of vocabulary is reminiscent to that of Burgess, and I LOVE IT.

This book is a collection a rhyming poems about naughty children. Each poem uses as many words in each short poem as possible using the child's name as the foundation. For instance, my favorite is the letter J -
"Joking Jackson
How that joker, Jackson, joshes:
Hiding jacks in Joe's golashes; ..."

Ha! It's so great! Plus, I suppose if you are brave enough to use this in a classroom setting, it could be a book full of mini-lessons on behavior. However, teacher be ware: the author provides a WARNING on the cover: "This book contains obnoxious children. Read at your own risk!"

The illustrations are really neat too, using all kinds of interesting design elements. For instance, there are pen drawings, water color, digital images, photography, and others. Did I say that I love this book?

Alphabet Mystery, by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Bruce Wood

This book was a real page-turner! It uses the lower-case letter (and capital I and M) as the characters. The letters belong to a little boy named Andy, who is planning a birthday surprise for his mom.

Beginning on the very first page, a mystery is introduced, little x is missing! The rest of the book tells the story of an imaginative adventure of flying on pencils, exploring a castle and finally finding little x dancing for the horrible green monster -capital M. Little x feels lonely and sad because he is never used (not many words need a little x). Finally the little x is coaxed back home and I and M are invited as well. Finally the final page displays the message that is written on a birthday cake for Andy's mom "I love you Mom! xxxx" Of course you need lots of little x for this message!

This book is excellent for teaching the alphabet and letter recognition to kids. The names of the letters are emphasized in the text using a different color which could be used in the classroom to get all the kids to say these letters together. One page of the book shows each letter of the alphabet with the presents they chose for Andy's mom, this can be used as a fun activity for kids too (they could find all the letters and realize, "hmm... the present each letter chooses begins with them").

There are just endless opportunities in this book to stop and discuss, unlike many of the other alphabet books that are out there, this one expands and allows for elaboration on teaching skills like comprehension, inquiry, and learning about components the of a story.

P.S. After I read this book with a two-year old who was very engaged with the story, he was seeing "little x" all over the place: in other books, on the fridge (magnet), on a tv program... There should be one like this for every letter of the alphabet!

Among the Odds and Evens: A Tale of Adventure, by Priscilla Turner & illustrated by Whitney Turner

Hmmm... That's what I was thinking after having read, re-read, and contemplated the multiple meanings, messages, motivators for learning in this strange children's book. I really liked it, it was thought provoking and used very intellectual language and dialogue.

Turner tells a story about two travelers, X and Y who crash land in their "aerocycle" on the land of Wontoo which just happens to be populated by some very strange and different these beings - numbers! Upon closer study of the mysterious new peoples, X and Y find that there are two groups - odds and evens. Of course the story gets even stranger when the children of the Wontoois are brought into the "equation." You see, a couple of even numbers have even children, a couple of odds have even children, but it is ONLY when an even and an odd "hook-up" that odd kids are produced.

Wow! Weird.

I could analyze this book as a work in anthropology (a mirror to our own anthropological studies of those who are different, who are "the other"), as a book to introduce numbers or odds and evens, or perhaps X and Y are the variables?? I just don't know how to interpret it, but however it is done, the book is just plain CRAZY - crazy in a good way.

I'm not sure if younger children would be able to keep up with vocabulary and hidden meaning, but the illustrations and basic story line are engaging nonetheless. Actually, the illustrations are amazing, they tell a story all by themselves, I was lost for over an hour in these watercolor paintings by Whitney Turner (it would have been longer if I hadn't forced myself to stay on task. What creativity and imagination it must have taken to create this story of adventure!

A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Brett Helquist

This short children's fiction novel is appealing right off the bat. The book looks old fashioned and mysterious. Snicket begins the book with a warning to potential readers explaining that if they like happy endings then this is not the book for them because there is no happy ending just misfortune, despair, and sadness. I know that this immediately fed into my own curiosity, and I was wondering if the author was serious about the dark nature of the book.

The book introduces in detail the characters that will be present in the thirteen-book series. The three Baudelaire orphan children (their parents were killed in a "horrible accident") are the main characters. The children are sent to live with the most awful of all relatives and the story just keeps getting more and more dark and "unfortunate." It seems like just as things are starting to brighten up for the Baudelaire's, things all of a sudden get worse.

Although the series may be too dark and depressing for some readers, they really are page-turners. The book is not all negative either, the text reinforces the positive habits and outlooks of the children. For instance, reading is an important pastime for the children in their dire environment and they become very creative attempting to plan their escape.

No matter how horrid life seems for the Baudelaire children, they always see the light at the end of the tunnel - NOTHING IS COMPLETELY HOPELESS.

The Giving Tree, written and illustrated by Shel Silversein

This book is a classic tale that mirrors the give-take relationship that is so common to children. The story of a young boy who has a close relationship with the giving tree, is great for helping children understand sharing, giving, and loving unconditionally.

The boy swung swung from the tree's branches, climbed her trunk, and ate her sweet apples as the boy the boy grew older he needed the apples for money, the branches for building a house, and her trunk to make a boat. Finally the giving tree had nothing left to give, so the boy (now an old man) sat atop the stump to rest, they were finally happy having the companionship of one another.

The illustrations, however simplistic, are so meaningful and full of emotion. Through the simple line drawings and the poetic nature of the story, the reader is "grabbed" and "pulled" into the emotions presented by Silverstein.

This could be seen as a parallel to what we do as teachers, we give unconditionally.

If I Had a Robot, by Dan Yaccarino

If you want a description, it can be found in the title. The main character in this book thinks about all the things he could do if he had a robot. This is a great book for beginning readers.
The
vertical
layout
of
the
text simplifies the reading process and makes it easy for young readers to see each word separately. Another aspect that makes this book very readable for youngsters, is the repetitive nature of the story as well as the blatant "picture clues" in the illustrations that provide hints into the text. The illustrations are large, brightly colored, and fill all of the space on the pages.

This book is good for reading with kids, but really, when I contemplate the message it sends, it seems a little "iffy." Send the robot to school so I don't have to go, have the robot do my homework, make the robot eat my vegetables... These are all things that children are taught to love (that is the goal, right?). But I suppose a child would most likely be able to relate to the ideas of the story and if they like robots, then the message may not matter at all.

One last noteworthy point to make on this book, is the power of imagination and curiosity it is capable of producing in a classroom setting. I can imagine a student being inspired to create their own robot, or write about what they would do with a robot.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, written and illustrated by William Steig

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is a great book to read aloud to children. It is interesting that there are no human characters in this story but all characters (the family of donkeys, the lion, and other farm animals) are humanized. That is, they are standing, wearing clothes, reading, cleaning, and doing otherwise "human" activities.

Sylvester, the young donkey is a collector of unique pebbles. One pebble is magic, and when Sylvester wishes upon the pebble his wishes come true. But, when one wish doesn't go as Sylvester planned and he ends up turning himself into a rock when attempting to dodge a Lion. The book becomes very sad... depressing. The donkey parents search and search for Sylvester with long, worried faces. The problem here is that the parents only search for one month and only choose to ask and look in the same places. Then the parents had expended their options and they feared the worst - THEY GAVE UP ON THEIR LITTLE DONKEY SON.

The mom and dad donkey were so sad that "life had no meaning for them anymore." Seasons passed and Sylvester (the rock) was sad, lonely, cold, hungry, and slept most of the time. Finally through a mere coincidental miracle, the parents use the rock that is Sylvester as a picnic table and find the magic pebble which reunites the donkey family.

They are all happy in the end, but for me this book is too sad - perhaps it would not be so upsetting for young children who may be able to relate to the emotions presented, rather than being thrown back by the somber and dramatic tone of the story as I was.

Overall, I must say that the book has a great flow to it, it is very readable, and the illustrations are vivid and captivating for young readers. A very interesting read.

Strega Nona, by Tomie DePaolo

Ooo, what a gem. This book teaches the importance of listening carefully, following the rules, and that there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing."

In this book too much of good thing comes in the form of a magical pasta pot that boils and bubbles and makes hot pasta. However, when Big Anthony uses the magical pasta pot without the permission of Strega Nona (the magical old woman who the pot belongs to) - the pasta almost engulfs the entire village when he is unable to turn it off. Big Anthony thought everyone in the village would be so thankful for his generous gift of free pasta that he did not stop to contemplate what may go wrong. Everyone was angry at Big Anthony for flooding the village with pasta, and in the end he is scolded by Strega Nona and is punished by being forced to eat all of the pasta.

I'd say Big Anthony learned his lesson.

The magic in this book is very exciting, and the illustrations tell a wonderfully vivid story. The image of the pasta flowing out of Strega Nona's little house and down the hill to the village is an unforgettable sight. The illustrations are interesting in that some are set up like a "comic strip" - showing the progression of the flowing pasta.

This is an awesome book, I would recommend it as a MUST READ!

A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog, written and illustrated by Mercer Mayer

This book by Mercer Mayer is a story without words, and form what I know about this kind of book - it is one of the very first, published in 1967.

The book, illustrated using pen, ink, and pencil drawings, portrays the story of a boy and his dog, who sets out wearing his waders and carrying a bucket and a net, for an adventure in frog-catching. After an entire day of playing "capture-the-frog" the boy looks as if he has become frustrated by the 'un-catchable' frog and he gives-up and heads for home. The frog becomes lonely and follows the boy's tracks until they are all reunited in the bathtub and everyone is happy.

The illustrations facilitate and encourage the creation of a story as it is seen in the pictures. The reader, children especially, can develop their own dialogue and narration that coincides with each illustration. It would be really interesting to actually see a child read this book, and to observe how they interpret the drawings and feelings represented within.

Millions of Cats, written and illustrated by Wanda Gág

This is a classic children's book - first published in 1928. I faintly remember hearing it read to me as a young child. The nonsensical book manages to convey real-life issues in the form of the human need for companionship and the difficulty of decision-making, while in my own memories a more frightening and disturbing theme stands out: SURVIVAL.

Following a recent re-read of the book the reason for this "fright" became apparent. The story begins with a sad, lonely, "very old" couple. The ink pen illustrations sprawl across the pages and highlight the despair of the couple: their home sad little cobblestone cottage perched on a baron hill, their lonesome expressions... Then EUREKA, the reader is amazed when the old man journeys out to find a companion and then "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats" appear over the hill. The man marches the trillions of cats home to his wife after he is unable to choose just one (each cat he sees is just as beautiful as the last). Of course all of the cats cannot be cared for - so the unthinkable happens - while the very old couple is deciding what to do, the cats all fight to the death.

The exact line that remains so disturbing to me, is uttered by the old woman, “I think they must have eaten each other all up... It's too bad!” (I must say that there is no gore or evidence of this battle occurring in the illustrations)

In the end the only cat that survived was the smallest, "homely cat" - it was not a threat to the other more beautiful cats - so this is the cat the couple kept and it became the most beautiful cat ever!

The absurd humor of the story is fun for an audience of young elementary students but on the other hand, I can definitely see how this book may be viewed by some as inappropriate or at least "controversial" for children in today's schools.

Wanna Buy an Alien? by Eve Bunting & illustrated by Tim Bush

I randomly chose this book from a list of "transitional fiction for kids" at the library. I wasn't sure what I was getting into, but the book ended up being really enjoyable. If kids are ready for some more challenging and informative reading material, and they like suspense, mystery, and science fiction genres, then Wanna Buy an Alien? is a great book to use in the 2-4th grade classroom. It's a newer publication also (2000) so the book contains a lot of references to technology and computers, good for the technologically-savvy student. The text includes all kinds of dialogue, important "clues" and "letters," and other new formatting which translates into = beneficial read-a-loud in the classroom.

Miss Nelson is Missing, by Harry Allard & illustrated by James Marshall

I remember hearing this book from a teacher in my own elementary days. It is about a horribly misbehaved class of children whose teacher goes "missing" and is replaced by the "witch" Miss Viola Swamp. The kids learn not to take advantage of their kind-hearted teacher. In the end the reader/listener finds out that Miss Viola Swamp and Miss Nelson are actually the same person. This is a good mystery introduction for kids. Asking questions throughout the text comes very naturally with this book.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst & illustrated by Ray Cruz

Another favorite. One of the most memorable books form my childhood - perhaps because I could really relate with Alexander and nothing going how he wanted it to. This book is engaging for younger kids and is appropriate for use in 1-3rd grade classrooms. It really teaches a valuable lesson - you can't always get what you want... EVEN IF YOU MOVE TO AUSTRALIA. This book can spark a wonderful discussion in the classroom, for instance "how could Alexander have reacted differently to the problems presented during his day?"

From Head to Toe, By Eric Carle

Carle is great at writing interactive books that kids can relate to and enjoy. This is definitely the case with the book: From Head to Toe. In this catchy rhythmic book, different animals demonstrate movements and the catch line asks the listeners, "Can you do it?" The interactive nature of the book engages children's voices and bodies. I imagine reading this book with kindergarten or first graders as an on-your-feet exercise. It would be great for introducing young elementary kids to different parts of the body, or just for getting the kids out of their desks and moving. Another area this book addresses is building self-confidence.

What was I Scared of? By Dr. Seuss

I really love this story. Dr Seuss' rhyming style is fun to read and to listen to. In this book the main character (a bear?) encounters a "pair of pale green pants with nobody inside them." The bear is scared but, in the end an important moral is established. Seuss' intention with this book (as with many others) was to help children & parents understand that difference should not be frightening. A great book for all ages!

Roxaboxen, by Alice McLerran & Illustrated by Barbara Cooney

One of my childhood favorites! This book seems appropriate for reading with kids who are ages six to ten. Published in 1991, this book is based on true events of childhood memories as remembered by the author's mother. "Roxaboxen" is the name of the community created and constructed by the children living in the desert in Arizona. The story is very captivating and enables children's imaginative/creative side. This could be a very useful book for introducing a science unit about the desert or desert plants.

Charlie & Lola - But excuse ME THAT is my book, by Lauren Child

This book by Lauren Child is wonderful for younger elementary children, probably K-2. Something I personally like about this specific book is that it is part of a series so it can be an ongoing read-a-loud in the classroom. All books in the series include the characters Charlie and Lola (brother and sister). In this particular book, kids can learn about libraries and what they have to offer. The illustrations as well as the sing-song style of Child's writing is very engaging.