Instead of Three Wishes

Instead of Three Wishes
Written by Megan Whalen Turner

This book is composed of seven small stories. They all have some type of fanticy elements to them. The first one is called A Plague of Leprechauns. When I first started to read this story, I though it was just like ordinary find a rainbow and a pot of gold type thing. It was completely different. In a small town in North Twickin, New Hampshire, a leprechaun was spotted!! This sent a mass of leprechaun hunters to this small town. All this search for leperchauns sent a plague of bad luck to the town. All it would take is for a leprachan to show himself to you and you will get all of his gold. People did all they could to catch this leprechaun. One artist came to town just to find a quiet place to paint. He did not want to hunt for silly leprechauns, but he came to be know as the leprechaun.

The second story was Leroy Roachbane. Leroy lived in a roach infested apartment. His mother hated them,so every morning he would go into the kitchen and kill all of the roaches insight. His mother told him he needed to get more boric acid on his way home from school. The gentleman at the store knew his problems at home and gave him some extra boric acid and threw in some roach motels for free. On his way home he crashed on his bike and was knocked out. Then he woke up surrounded by little people. He told him he was the king of the roaches! This instantly intrigued the little people for they had a roach problem as well. Leroy saved there lodge and taught them how to keep it free of roaches. He woke up still laying on the ground. Was it a dream or was it  real? That is the mystery here!

The third story was The Factory. It is about a man, who works on the tallest crane in the factory. You learn that the factory was built on family property. There are many strange things happening in this book, like ghosts that read?!. It is a great story about the love of reading and learning, with an interesting twist. I really enjoyed the ending of this one, because it was not something I saw coming. It was very interesting!

Forth Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits, this was very strange. It was like a story with in a story, with in a painting. It was interesting. There were a lot of deatails in this story that are important. You had to read it extremely close to catch all of the facts. There were times I had to reread sections because I missed an important fact of information.This story was unlike anything I have read. It was interesting.

Instead of Three Wishes is the fifth book. A young girl helps an old man across the road not knowing he was magical. He offers her three wish as a payment and she refuses it. He searches all over to find something that will repay her. He gets to know her and mother. He learns her likes and dislikes, what makes her happy, and what she longs to do. This is a great story for not loving what you have and not taking things for granted.

The Nightmare is the next one. This one was extremely interesting. It is a story about bullying and looking at yourself through the eyes of the people you bully or the people that are bullying you, because of the way you acted. It makes you really think about the image you are portarying to others. Is it a good one? Are people scared of you? Do they look at you like you are nothing but a pittiful child looking for attention? It was very interesting!

The last one is the Baker King. This one was not my favorite. It was interesting story line. It just did not suck me in like the other did. The kind had dissapeared, but no one knows he is really dead. They are all waiting for him to return. In the meantime, a bandit is coming to make him self king of the land. So someone finds a fake king to stand in place of the absent one. By a meraculous curse, the bandit dies!! Then the land is set aright again.

Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child

Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child
Written and illustrated by Bob Graham

Love, love, love this book!! It is filled with all types of fun things like fairies, tea parties, and a festival!! It made me want to hop into the book and join them! Annabelle wanted to find fairies! She had all of the time in the world to look and look. Her parents on the other hand were too busy to even think about fairies. They had to work and check emails and take care of her little brother Sam. As  an adult reading it, I realized how important it is to just slow down and take time to see the smaller blessings in life, like the fairies. It is a great eye opener to adults reading to their children. It allows the parent to really think about what their child is saying and take more time to listen to them. As a future educator, I need to do the same. It is important to me to listen to their little stories they love to blurt out, because in them you find out what they love, what makes them sad and most importantly what they see that I do not. Children look at the world in a completely different way than adults. They look at it as a place to explore, new things to see, new people to meet. It is a world filled with mystery, excitment, and wonder! They are facinated by the things adults look over, the things that adults do not even realize exist. I loved how this book made me want to go lay in the grass and look for fairies. I know I might not find any right away, but think of all the other magical things I could find!

Ramona the Pest

Ramona the Pest
Written by Beverly Cleary
Illustrations by Tracy Dockray

Do you remember what kindergarten was like for you? Well Ramona Quimby will soon find out. In this story, we follow her through kindergarten. There are many ups and downs she goes through. Ramona tries so hard to be the best student ever, so Miss Binney will love her. However soon after Halloween, she finds her self expelled from kindergarten. Ramona vows to never ever return, because clearly Miss Binney does not love her.

This was an easy book to read. Great for third and fourth graders to pick up and read. It was very relatable as well. Ramona was a normal everyday girl, who goes through some of the same struggles we all do. She looses her first tooth and she has to put up with the mean older kids, who always call her names. I loved that is was told from Ramona's point of view. It gives the book a fresh out look into what a child could be thinking about. It would make me laugh when her parents or sister would call her a pest. Ramona then tries to explain to her self that she is not a pest, she doing what any curious five year old would do even if some people did not agree with her. I feel like this book would be a great read out loud to first graders. They could really relate to Ramona or even the other first graders! I really enjoyed this book! It was a great read and really funny!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Written by Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Quentin Blake 
Author study 3


Who doesn't know the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Well a quick overview is Charlie and his family were very poor. Then one day Mr. Willy Wonka, the owner of the largest chocolate factory in the world, decided to let 5 children come into his factory. These 5 children were chosen by finding one of five golden tickets inside one of Wonka's candy bars. During the tour of the factory, 4 children came out, but one stayed inside with Mr. Wonka. Charlie and his grandfather were so excited to meet Mr. Wonka and eat all of the chocolate they want.

I love this story. It is fun and whimsical. It allows the reader to imagine what it would be like to be Charlie or Willy Wonka. I have never read this book before. I watched the movie, so as I was reading all I could think about was compareing the two. I found that I was really surprised at the book and the movie. They were very similar. I liked being able to find the small differences between the movie and the book. It made me more intune with the small details.

The Witches

The Witches
Written by Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Quentin Blake 
Author study 2

I really enjoyed this book! I did a little research and found out that his parents were from Norway and Scandinavia. So the fact that this book is set in Norway, gives us a little insight into his life. This book is about a little boy and his grandmother who live together. Grandma told him all about the witches of Norway and how to figure out which woman is really a witch. Along their journey, they ran into a witch convention! All of the witches of England were there, even the Grand High Witch her self!!  It was fascinating to read Dahl's creative work. I was in awe by how he constructed the plot for the story. I had no idea what to expect when I started to read these books.My friend told me it was a strange book. I did not think it was too strange. Yes, it was different, but it was not out of the blue or too strange to comprehend. It was clever and funny. The story was a great way to add another story about witches.

I did some research and it was said that this book had caused some controversy. Critics believed that it was too violent for children to read. I did not agree with that. It hinted about what the witches did to children, but it left it up to the imagination of the reader. I thought "violence" in the book was hilarious!! Formula 86, which is designed to turn children into mice, was the potion the witches were going to use to exterminate all of the children in England! It was also stated that it is sexist because all witches are women. Yes, it does say all witches are women, but it says that some men are ghouls. Dahl explains that not all women are witches, and some women are extremely nice. Along with that, it states that they were not human.

The BFG

The BFG
Written by Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Author study 1

I have nothing negative to say about this book. It grabbed you from the very beginning! What would you think if a giant man came and grabbed you through the window? Sophie was petrified!! "Is he going to eat," was all she could think about the whole way to the giants house. Once they arrived, Sophie found out that he was the BFG-The Big Friendly Giant!! From then on, Sophie learned about dreams and how all the human "beans" from different parts of the world taste like. She was disgusted by all of the other giants! Her and the BFG came up with a plan to punish them all. This plan involved dreams, running all the way to England, and even the QUEEN!!! It was an impossible mission!

One of my favorite things about this book was the way the BFG spoke. It had me cracking up. Some of the things were just ridiculous. I also liked how Sophie would try and correct him. It made it much more comical, because in my head I could see myself doing the same thing. It made me very relatable to her. This book is a great book on friendship. The relationship between Sophie and the BFG does take some work. They have to build a lot of trust with one another. Sophie has to trust that he wont eat her, and the BFG has to trust her with all of his secrets. Both players know their only way to survive is if they trust one another, so they do! They go on the biggest adventure of their life!

Soupy Saturday with the Pain and the Great One

Soupy Saturday with the Pain and the Great One
Written by Judy Blume
Illustrations by James Stevenson
Contemporary Realism 1

 This was a great book. I loved how the stories switched from different points of view. It reminded me a lot of me and my siblings. We are always fighting with one another. The stories were hilarious. It was a great take on sibling relationships. As a reader you were able to relate to at least one of the characters in some way. In the stories were real life issues, like not being able to ride your bike or staying the night at a friends house for the first time. There are many of these typed of events in this story that makes it relatable to all ages of readers. The amount of text in each story varied. It is a great book for a reluctant reader or a reader who is ready to make the jump to larger chapter books. The illustrations brought to life the comical aspects in each story. There was a funny twist on each side that allowed the reader to learn what the character is all about. The ending of the book caught me off guard. You do not think about what the cat or dog is thinking about when you are fighting with your siblings. The ending of this story brought those thoughts to life. I am going to warn you, it is awfully funny.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo
Written by Diane Stanley
Biography 5

This book was very different from the last Michelangelo book I read. The last one was just full of information everywhere, while this one told it with a story. I liked how it used a story layout to inform people about Michelangelo. Even though this is a picture book, the amount of text on a page can be quite over whelming. I think that it would be better for 4-5th graders because of the amount of content that the book does hold. The images in this book are a little different that what you would expect to find. I liked them at first, but when they started to incorporate his art work using digital devises things got a little hairy. To me it did not seem like his art work was real. It made it look computerized. I feel like it would have been better to just use the real photograph instead of one that was changed on Adobe Photoshop. They just seemed to not relay the same message as the original ones did. I really liked how they had a bibliography in the back of the book. It made this book a reliable place to get information, and you could check her sources for accuracy, if you had any doubt.

On the Trail of Sacagawea

On the trail of Sacagawea
Written by Peter Lourie
Biography 4

I really liked how they added the prologue to the story. It gave great back ground information on why they went on the expedition in the first place.  The book is written as a family re-travels the path Sacagawea took to reach the Pacific coast. It is neat to see the pictures from today and then read about what they would have looked like when Sacagawea was traveling along that road. It was also nice how they broke down the sections in the book to specific things. You could read about the wild life around the Mississippi River, or learn about Powwows. It covered a lot of basic information that would have been important to Sacagawea. It was interesting to learn about the Tepee Rings they found in the dirt. It shows how people studying the Native American culture are able to still find information about how they lived just by looking in the dirt! The illustrations in the book are fantastic. They make you feel like you are right at home with the author, like he is taking this journey with you. There are some photographs in black and white that are compared to today's photograph of that same thing, or the place where it would have been. It is interesting to compare and contrast the two photographs. It shows us just how much our world has changed, since this exploration time period in our history.

Sacagawea

Sacagawea
Written by Lise Erdrick
Illustrations by Julie Buffalohead
Biography 3

This was a great book. I loved how it told about her life. It made it sound adventurous and dangerous, which it was. It showed how much Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark. With out her, they would not have horses to cross the Rocky Mountains or know what plants to eat or not to eat. She was the main reason for their survial and for exploring the west cost. I really liked how at the beginning of the story it had an authors note. In the authors note, she explained the pronunciation of her name. Since no one really knows it, there has been a lot of speculation of how it is spelled and pronounced. I thought this was interesting, because i have only know it as Sacagawea. I found out there were many different ways people spelled it. At the end it also gave a short summery of her life after the expedition west. Since the Native American culture does not have a written language, it is hard to accurately pin point what happened to Sacagawea and her family.  The illustration in the book are simply beautiful. The work very well with the text to give you a feeling of where you are in history and in the United States.

Sacagawea: Indian Interpreter to Lewis and Clark

Sacagawea: Indian Interpreter to Lewis and Clark
Written by Marion Marsh Brown
Biography 2


This was a very interesting book. I learned so much about Sacagawea. I was kind of concerned when I started to read it because it read like a story. I did not want to be fictionalized. I liked how they broke the chapters down chronological and the Illustrations they used.  The photographs were placed in the perfect spot. They helped the reader really see what is happening to her. Since the images are photographs, it really allows the reader to acknowledged she was a real person. She was a very prominent figure in our history. Her story has been told many times and in many different ways. This is a great way to read the truth about what Sacagawea did.
The way the book was written was easy to follow. It read like a novel. It would be great for 4th or 5th graders to gather information from. The way the chapters are broken down allow the reader to read about what he or she wants. 

Introducing Michelangelo

Introducing Michelangelo
Written by Robin Richmond
Biography 1

This is a full biography of Michelangelo's life. I really liked how during his first years of life we did not know a lot about his, so they referred to different art work that was done within that period to infer what Michelangelo might have worn or acted like. It was interesting to see some of the works of different artists to be used for such a task, but it really brought to life how important art is to preserving the culture of that time. It was nice that with in the text you had some stories about his life told from his masters at the workshop. It shows that he was a real person and touched many people lives with his art work. He greatly inspired those around him to love and appreciate art. The text is also lighthearted. It makes it easy to read and not seem to dull. It brings him to life. All of his sculptures, went into great detail in explaining how they were made and what they represent. This is very important because understand Michelangelo's work is a great way of truly understanding who he is as a person. The book is broken down into short chapters. This is nice if you are just looking to study one aspect of Michelangelo's life. It lets beginner readers find easy and clear spots to stop reading at and allows them to not feel overwhelmed with all of the text on the page.

Bound

Bound
Written by Donna Jo Napoli
Historical fiction 2

This book started off great! I thought that it had a great story line. The beginning of the book started off kind of slow, but it picked up towards the middle. It was really interesting to read about the great lengths women went through to make their feet smaller. I felt extremely sorry for Wei Ping and everything she had to endure. I am a sucker for pain, so some of the more graphics parts in this book made me a little sick to my stomach. I loved how it talked about some of the Chinese beliefs, like reincarnation and the spirits of their ancestors. This was a huge theme through the book, which it should have been. It was neat to read about how obedient and respectful they are to the spirits of their ancestors.

It was in the last 40 pages or so that I lost all connection to the book. The story that was unrolling nicely took a huge turn and began to sound like a classic fairy tale, Cinderella. Xing Xing, the main character, found a secret letter from her mother hidden under the floor. With that letter were beautiful fancy clothes. There was a huge celebration for the whole province. Xing Xing pretended she was sick, while her stepmother and stepsister, Wei Ping, went to the celebration. Up until this point I was fine with the story. I was fine with the book ending with her going to celebration in the fancy clothes, finding a husband and showing up her stepmother and sister. However, it did not go that way exactly. At the celebration, she sees her stepmother and sister looking right at her!! In a panic, she flees losing one her precious slippers. Here is where the story is the same. A gentleman from the palace comes to the house asking for all the young women. The evil stepmother says there is no one else but her and Wei Ping. Then out of know where comes Xing Xing and the show fits and yippie they go off to be married. Yay! I was disappointed. I felt like there could have been a way better ending to this story. It did not even say if Wei Ping got married, after all that agony with her feet.

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam
Cynthia Kadohata
Historical fiction 1

WOW!! This book was intense. I absolutely loved it. I am a dog lover and I am from a military family, so this book really hit home for me. I have heard story after story about how different family members being in Vietnam, hearing this made me think about all of those stories.

From the very beginning It had me wrapped. I could feel the pain the little boy, Willie, was going through at the thought of getting rid of his dog. It had me balling. All I could think of was getting rid of any of my dogs! It was so rough! The story is told from the point of view of both Cracker, a German Sheppard, and Rick, who joins the Army. I really enjoyed how the author really emphasized the relationship between the dogs and the dog handler. It was nice to see that Cracker did not want to listen to Rick or really any of the military personnel for that matter. It was clear that Cracker was one of the best dogs in training. When they made it to Vietnam, I was so nervous something bad was going to happen to Rick or Cracker. It made me not want to put the book down. Because this is a book about war, I knew something bad was eventually going to happen. When a series of events happened, I was balling. All of my family was laughing at me, but I could not put the book down. It was hard for me to read this book, because I am a military child. I knew a lot of people that fought in the war or are fighting in the war now. I would read passages and think of some of my good friends in Iraq.

The bond that Rick and Cracker created between one another was so strong. It shows you really can connect between different animals. It also showed how much the soldiers depended on these dogs. The dogs were closer companions than the other soldiers around them. They were everything to these men. They were their life line. I loved how the book really emphasized that point a lot of different ways. The ending of the book was great! I loved how it had a choice ending, you were not really sure which way it would go. I loved that part of it. It made it more exciting to read the book and find out what happened!

Tales of the Dead: Ancient China

Tales of the Dead: Ancient China
Written by Stewart Ross
Illustrated by Inklink and Richard Bonson
Informational book 4

This book had a lot going on it. There was the story that was a graphic novel around the out side of the pages and then all of the information was in the middle. It was really hard for me to read the story and the information that was given at the same time. I found my self just reading the story instead of learning about Ancient China. I feel like I if a student picked the book up it would be the same way or vise versa. It is hard to keep the two a part. I tried for the first few pages to see if it was easier to read the text and then the story, but then I would lose my place in the story and have to look back. Then I tried to read the story and then the text, but then I would just continue on with the story and skip over a lot of the text.

I really enjoyed the story that was in the book. It was great portrayal of what could really happen to the Emperor and to the people of China. The information in the book was exciting to learn about. I do not know that much about China, expect for the basic things I learned in history class. I learned a lot about how they traded and what types of boats they used. I even learned new things about how the Great Wall was built.   I liked how it was broken down as well. There was a short paragraph that would give an over view of the topic, and then pictures would go into further detail with smaller text accompanied with it. This book had a lot of great information in it, but it was all over the place for my liking.

Dinosaurs

INsiders-Dinosaurs
Written by John Long
Informational book 5

WOW! There is so much information in this book! I learned so much about different dinosaurs! It was incredible. I love how they broke the book down into "introducing" the dinosaurs and "in focus" where they just focused on specific dinosaurs.

In the "introducing," the separate the sections even farther. They are separated into The Age of Dinosaurs, The Life of Dinosaurs, and Discovering Dinosaurs. It is then broken down even farther. The "in focus," is broken down as well in to two categories, Meat Eaters and Plant Eaters. These two sections are broken down into several different species of dinosaurs. I loved how they did this! All of the history behind the dinosaurs and their way of life is broken down in the first sections and learning about specific dinosaurs like the mighty T-Rex, is in the second. This allows readers to really read what they want to know. If they already know a great deal about one topic, it allows them to read more in depth about another.

It was also nice how there was text that gave a brief paragraph about each topic. This paragraph is LOADED with information though. Don't let the size fool you. Each topic cover a spread of two pages with amazing illustrations on each page. The illustrations broke down the text into smaller sub-groups and explained some of the more difficult topics more in depth. I liked how on some of the pages you had to turn the book to read what was on the page. It made the book interactive for the reader, because they did not know how the next pages were going to arranged.

Overall, this book was fantastic. It had so much information and was fun to read! It is definitely a great book for anyone who loves dinosaurs!

The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive

The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive
Written by Joanna Cole
Illustrated by Bruce Degen
Informational book 3

Alright first off, I love the Magic School Bus books. I loved the TV show when I was growing up and I can remember so many facts because of the shows and the books. This book is not an exception. I love how the information is intertwined in a fun filled class trip. These are great books for students because the students can easily relate to the characters. Arnold does not like insects, someone in your classroom might be terrified of insects as well. This makes the book very relate-able to different types of students in your classroom.  The information is the story is in the story itself, but is also in the fun pictures. I love how a lot of the information is put along the side of the illustrations. Most of them look like papers students wrote about the topic. There are also ones for vocabulary, which is a great thing to include! The illustrations also make the book very funny! I love the cartoon style! It teaches children how to read that type of writing style as well as a regular story style.

The one downfall I do see to this story is for reluctant readers. Each page has a lot going on it. A student could feel overwhelmed at not be able to read it. Also since there is a lot going on, a student could feel lost and not know where to start. Both of these things deter a student from reading it, but I feel if the teacher read a similar story to them, they would have a better idea on how to read them. There is so much information to learn from this book. I wish I would have had this book in 5th grade. It would have been my go to book, but instead I checked out tons of books about bees from the library!

The Roman News!

The Roman News
Written by Andrew Langley and Philip de Souza
Informational book 2

Attention! Attention! Caesar Stabbed! This could be the greatest attention-getter ever! This book was filled with everything you would need to know about Rome. It is filled with the latest news and gossip, all the way from learning where and how to buy your own slaves to what you should wear to tonight party! It is written in a newspaper style, which makes reading about these topics fun and enjoyable. I loved how they made it seems like it was just happening in the world when it happened thousands of years ago.

It is great for older students. There is a ton of information jammed pack in here! It is a great way to introduce this ancient culture to students in a fun way! Since there are a lot of topics, everyone could find a story that relates to them-self. Each page had a lot going on, but it was designated to a certain subject, so it did not seem all over the place. It was very contained and well organized. It did not seem overwhelming or chaotic. It was fun to read and very informational.

The River: A First Discovery Book

The River: A First Discovery Book

Created by Gallimard Jeunesse and Laura Bour

Illustrated by Laura Bour
Informational book 1

This is a great book for younger students. There are not that many words on each page and the illustrations are very detailed. This helps younger readers be able to put the pictures with the words, even if they do not know what the words mean exactly. I loved how in depth they were with the different animals. I also liked how they talked about how the animals live and reproduce.

The illustrations in the book were great. I loved how some of them were half pages that put a different image on each page. This was a great way to show cause and effect! It was really interesting to see how the image changed once you turn the page. The book also talked about taking care of the environment. This was great and I loved that they did it at the end of the book after they showed all of the animals that lived there. This helps put it in perspective that we need to take care of our environment.

Esperanza Rising

Esperanza Rising

Written by Pam Munoz Ryan

When I started reading this book, I could not quite get into it. I think it was because I have been reading so much, not the book itself. I finally started getting into it in about the middle of the book. I really enjoyed the story line and how Esperanza developed throughout the book. I felt like through the whole book she would be a stubborn girl, who would not listen to anyone. I was happily wrong. I really liked how she took everything that people said to her personally. This showed that she would learn from her mistakes and try to see the world like everyone else saw it. I really enjoyed this trait of hers. It gave the story more meaning and made it more light hearted that she was trying to learn knew things. Her kindness also shows through as well. I loved the part where she helped out Marta twice, even though she was not kind to Esperanza.

The quilt that esperanza was in charge of making was a very powerful piece. It gave her the power to continue on with her life even though it seemed like everything was starting to fall apart. This book was filled with all sorts of emotions from happy to sad to even anger. When Miguel took her money and ran away with it, I was so furious. I liked him as a character throughout the whole book, until that part. However when he came with her grandmother, I was so thrilled! I really enjoyed this book after I finished it. I am glad I took the time to read it.

There's a Wolf at the Door

There's a Wolf at the Door
Retold by Zoe B. Alley
Illustrations by R.W. Alley
Folklore #3

The story is separated into 5 different stories, but they are connected. I love how they are done in the graphic novel style. It really makes them fun to read! The first story is The Three Little Pigs. It was just how I remembered it from when I was growing up, but there was a slight twist. The third little pig had to trick the wolf more than once. This took some careful timing on his part. This addition provided more laughs and provided a nice transition to the story The Boy Who Cried Wolf! In this story the sheep talk, but not to the little boy. I loved their side comments. They were hilarious. I also loved when the sheep saved the day!! The next story was Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red was a self absorbed child, who's only interest was in the next red article of clothing she would find! The wold in his red vest and red hat had a nice long talk with her on her way to grannies. I loved how they used the clothing aspect of the story as a way for the wolf to find out where she was heading. It was also nice how they through in a little tale about treating others nicely. It was a cool twist on the story. The forth book is The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. I have never heard of this story. It was cute though. The wolf found a white run and pretended to be a sheep. A little girl thought he was a poodle though! He tried then to go back to the Sheppard to capture a sheep there, but they did not fall for it. The last story is The Wolf and the Seven Little Goslings. It was very cute! I loved how one of the little Goslings was singing the entire time! It was too cute!

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Written and Illustrated by Jane Ray
Folklore #2

Why are all the princesses dancing shoes needing to be replaced every night? The king locks them in their room before he turns out the lights! Where are they going? What are they doing? This book answers all of these questions. This book is filled with magic. I loved it. The illustrations make everything more magical from the gowns to the gardens. The gardens were amazing. They were very beautiful. You could only imagine these places in your dreams. They were filled with beauty, riches, and wonder. The gowns were gorgeous! All of the colors and the patterns were amazing! I loved all of the attention to details that she put into everything from the castle to the boats, everything!!

I have never read a fair tale like this one. I really enjoyed the story. I was not thrilled that the king kind of sold his daughters to some one who stalked them to find out what they were doing. I thought that was strange, but there was a great magical element that helped the book!

Juan Bobo

Juan Bobo
Retold by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Illustrations by Ernesto Ramos Nieves
Folklore #1

These stories are from Puerto Rico. Juan Bobo became the center of the childrens folklore. He is classified as a  "noodlehead." This book is made up of short stories about Juan Bobo and his mother. The story are so funny and clever! I really enjoyed reading them. These stories, since they were written so long ago are great ways to see what Puerto Rico was like back then. These stories show the world from a child's perspective. My favorite story in the book was the one talking about manners. Juan Bobo reacted in the most perfect way you think a child would react. I felt bad for him, but we have all went through the phase where we know what we are suppose to do, but it feels like we are not allowed to do anything at all.  There was one story I did not quite understand though. I am going to have to look into that one a bit more. It just was not funny to me and I did not understand if he carried the water in his hand or if the baskets had a hole in them. It just did not make sense. Overall this was a great book. It was fun and colorful and easy to read!

The Hunger Game Series

The Hunger Game Series
Written by Suzanne Collins

I have nothing negative to say about these books. I did not know a lot about them when I started reading them, so I did not know what to expect. These books were excellent. They grabbed you as soon as you turned the first page. The series as a whole were great. There were missing pieces; it felt like one giant book. It had me crying, and really enjoying what I was reading. I could not put these books down, I wanted to know what was going to happen. I would have to say my favorite was the first book. The amount to detail when describing all of Katniss' dresses and her bow and arrow skills were fantastic. You could see it so clearly in your head as if you were in the audience.

I love how the book was written. It was written in first person, but some of it felt like third as if you were in the audience of the hunger games and could read Katniss' mind. The tone of the book was very serious. It game the reader a lot of time to think about the actions Katniss was choosing to do. The book was set in the future. Where is there no america, only the city of Panem. The Capitol controls the 12 districts, each district specializes in a unique skill in underfed communities while the Capitol lives a carefree lifestyle with out any worries. It is very clear that the Capitol is a tyrant dictatorship that is  controlling the 12 districts as a punishment for their rebellion 75 years ago. When Katniss starts another rebellion, the rebel districts over throw the Capitol. When the president of the rebel districts says that they should create a Hunger Game where the Capitol children are sent in to kill one another. There is an uproar between the remaining soldiers, but Katniss makes the final decisions, when she was chosen to take out the Capitol's President.

I would recommend these books to a lot of people! There is some caution because the way the book is written you can visually depict the fight scenes. Some of them are very violent, but the rush that over whelms you while you are reading them makes you not want to set the book down. I am very glad that I chose to read these books. They have been on my list for a while, so to actually be able to read and experience these book was amazing!

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Written by Sherman Alexie

I had no idea what to think going into this book. From some people I heard it was a great book, from others I heard that they did not like it all. Some said it was the worst book they have ever read. I disagree. I enjoyed reading this book. I could see him struggle with his identity through out the whole book. I thought it was very well written and hilarious. There were parts in the book that I would make my boyfriend stop playing his game and listen to me read it out loud to him just so I could share that part with him. I would not recommend this book to just anyone though. Some of the humor could be considered inappropriate for some people and he does use a lot of foul language. I think that these items were excellent in this book. They really helped you understand the character for who he really was. The character in the story is telling the story of the authors life. I thought that was really interesting. It would be hard for me to write about how I was feeling and to reflect on those situations.

What I really loved about this book is how well it was written from a teenage boys perspective. It had me cracking up from the beginning! As a girl we have the unspoken rules that we live by, but it great to hear the opposite sexes unspoken rules as well. It shows that we both live in a world that is completely oblivious to the other. There were some parts in this book that made me just want to cry though. I could not believe that people just sat back and watched as people went on and drank their lives away. When I look back on it though, people were so use to the accidents and deaths caused by drinking that it seemed almost a norm for them. It is a sad reality but it is true. When someone sees something everyday, eventually they turn a blind eye to it. We do it all the time in society whether we like to admit it or not.

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux
Written by Kate DiCamillo

For this book I read and watched the movie. Here is what I thought about both:

When reading the book, I was trying to figure out how they would make this into a movie. In the story, the chapters jump from character to character. In my mind it would be hard to portray that in a movie without the audience becoming confused. Right when the movie started, it was wrong for me. When Roscuro arrived at the castle, he was on a pirate ship, but in the book he had already lived in the dungeon. During his arrival, it was national soup day this was not in the book. The queen loves soup so much that she demanded it be served at every special occasion. I did like the part when Roscuro fell into her soup; it was just like I pictured it. With the rats in the dungeon, one lived Gregory, who was a prisoner not a flying fruit chef thing. I was extremely disappointed with that, because in the story Gregory is who helps Despereaux out of the dungeon. Secondly, there was another prisoner as well. In the movie, they have him as the gate keeper of the cells. He is Miggery Sow’s father, who was arrested for stealing and guilty for selling his daughter for two hens and a table cloth. Both in the book and movie Miggery Sow wants to be a pretty, pretty princess. The reason she was sent to the castle in the first place was because the castle knights came to her “uncle’s” house to take away all of their soup cooking and eating utensils. They realized that he had Mig as a slave, so they took her with them to the castle to be a servant girl for the princess. In the movie her “uncle” sells her to the knights with his pigs. Overall, the producers kept to the story line. I feel that they left out some major details that would make the story clearer to the viewer.

They used animation for this movie. The animation was great! You could not do this movie with a regular casting staff. It would have made it extremely complicated to show the talking mouse and rat communities, if they were played by real people. By using the animation, it brought the characters to life in a way that the book could not. You could really see them scurry and cower like all mice do and you could see the evil and all of the darkness in the rat community. I really like how they drew out Despereaux and the mouse community. I enjoyed how small they made him compared to all of his mouse brother and sisters. Miggery Sow was also perfect, all though when she lived with her uncle she was not plump. She gained all her weight when she lived in the castle. That is my only criticism with her. The rat community to me was all wrong. Roscuro needed to be darker looking and he did not have his red cape, which he stole from Mig’s father or the Queen’s spoon on his head, which he took when he landed her soup. Overall I enjoyed the animation in the movie. I do not have anything really negative to say about it, except I was not thrilled about Roscuro. Other than that, it brought the characters to life in my head.

Personally, I enjoyed the book way more. It was a cute movie, but it did not follow the book at all. That upset me very much. I understand that some parts of the book were dark, but I feel that those parts were needed to make the characters that they were in the book. Without those experiences they went through in the book, they would not have acted the way they did to the situation that was handed to them. Take Mig for example, if her father would not have sold her and the man he sold her to did not clot her ears every chance he got, maybe she would have been happier. However, because of all of that it made her want to do anything she could to become a pretty, pretty princess, even if that meant locking the real princess in the dungeon with all of the rats. In the movie you do not see that part. You also do not see Gregory. I was excited to see how he was going to be portrayed in the movie! When I found out he was a flying array of fruit and vegetables, I was extremely upset. I felt that he played a vital role in helping Despereaux escape from the dungeon. The movie left out way to many things and changed too many things for me to enjoy it. While I was watching it, I found myself saying this is not right or it did not go like that it went like this and so on. It just was not a great representation of the book.

I gave the movie a negative rating, because it did not follow the book. Overall it was a good movie, if you have not read the book yet. However, if you had read the book before watching, I feel you would be very disappointed in it. I think the book was made into a movie, because it shows great examples of bravery and loyalty. It also helps explain what some different emotions mean and what they can cause people do to. I think it also helps that it was Newberry Medal winner.

Yellow Star

Yellow Star
Written by Jennifer Roy

This is the first person telling of what life was like in the Lodz ghetto during World War 2. It tells the life of a 5 year old girl, Syvia. She was only one of 12 children that survived the ghetto. I have not read that many books about the Holocaust, but when we think about it, we think we know all of what happened. To hear this story from a child's perspective made it even harder to imagine that these atrocities actually happened. From this book you really get a great understanding of what these people had to face. You understood that they were completely lost. They had no outside information coming in, and if they did they did not know what was fact or what was a rumor. Millions and millions of Jews gladly boarded a train heading to their death, thinking they were going to a better place.When Syvia talks about the Nazi soldiers coming door to door to take the children, I can feel the horror and pain that all of the parents in the ghetto could be going through. Her father was very brave and loving. It reminded me of my dad. I know he would do the same thing for me, if I was scared. My favorite part in the book, is when her dad climbed in the whole with her and spent the night hiding from the soldiers. This is my favorite part because it shows how much her father cares about her safety and he does not want his family to be separated.

I was not sure how I would like reading this book. When I think of a biography type book, I do not think that it should be written in poetry. However this book was perfect written in poetry. It brought so much more meaning to the words. It allowed you to focus on what was really happening to her life and how she was feeling. The words were so powerful and thought provoking! I could not put this book down. This was a great way to learn about history!

A Giraffe and a Half

A Giraffe and a Half
Written by Shel Silverstein
Poetry 3

If you had a giraffe and he stretched another half, do you know what you would get? A giraffe and a half! This funny story about a giraffe had me laughing the whole way through! I really enjoyed the repetition on each page. It made you anticipate the next silly thing the giraffe is going to do. Shel Silverstein's line drawings make the silly poems come to life. They bring out the imagination of the reader in a way that it could be hard for a person to imagine a giraffe looking cute in a suit with a rose on his nose. I really enjoyed this book. It would definitively be something I would have on my book shelf. Everyone needs a good laugh here and there! :)

Nonsense!

Nonsense!
Written by Edward Lear
Illustrated by Valorie Fisher
Poetry 2

Nonsense is the perfect name for this book! It is filled with silly, funny, short poems. Some of the poems in this book leave you thinking, "what in the world is going on here?" The illustrations are the best part of this book! Some of the poems use words that may be too difficult for some readers, but the illustrations found a way to incorporate the definition into the pictures. I thought that was great! It allows the reader to be able to understand what the meaning of the poem is. Each poem gets two pages, one for the poem and one for the illustration. The illustrations bring out the fun whimsical aspect of Edward Lear's poems. These could be perfect for reluctant readers and a great way to get people start thinking in silly ways. This book was so much fun!

Love That Dog

Love That Dog
Written by Sharon Creech
Poetry 1

Poetry is only for girls, that is what Jack thought. He, however, came to learn that poetry was in fact for boys too!! His teacher kept showing them these confusing poems that did not make any sense to Jack at all! When he tried to write a poem, he was not even sure that it was a poem in the first place, but since the teacher said they had to try, he would. The teacher wanted to put Jack's poem on the board, but Jack did not want everyone to know that he, a boy, wrote them. This always encouraging teacher, never gave up on  her students and taught them how to read and appreciate poetry. Some of the poems Jack writes about I can relate to. The one he did about his dog really got to me. I am an animal person and I have had so many dogs! I know what it feels like to lose a pet. My dog went through the exact same thing as Jack's did in the story. When he was talking all about his dog, all I could think about was my Zodie. It almost made me cry!

Growing up I loved books by Sharon Creech. I was determined to read all of them! Somehow, I missed this one! I wish I would have found it sooner, maybe it could have sparked my love for writing and poetry a little earlier in life. I have never been a strong writer. I always hid from it or if it was required I did the minimum I had to do just to get by. But when the teacher said we were going to do poetry, it was even worse! I cannot write things that are not creative, how am I suppose to write things that are!?! I feel like this book, could have helped me to see, I did not have to be super creative and that poetry could be anything I wanted it to be. I am definitely going to remember this one and it will always be on my book shelf!

Weedflower

Weedflower
Written by Cynthia Kadohata

What would it feel like if you and your family were taken away from your home and placed in a building that looked suitable for horses? Would you be angry? Confused? Lonely? This book is about a Japanese-American family during World War 2. Sumiko lived on a flower farm with her brother, Tak Tak, her Aunt and Uncle, her cousins, Bull and Ichiro, and her grandfather, Jiichan. They all worked hard to keep the farm running and to make a living. Sumiko went to school during the day. Her school however was not the one that is mostly Japanese children; it had mostly white. She felt like she did not belong at all. Being a military child, I know what it feels like to be the odd person in the room, that no one really knows. I know about feeling like all eyes are on you, or it is like no one sees you at all. The way she was treated by her classmates and her classmates' parents was really hurtful. I could not imagine turning a child away from a birthday party just because they were of a different nationality. It shows the stereotypical view of Americans and how the white culture should be dominate, while the other nationalities are just savages and not civilized peoples. This kind of fearful stereotyping of Japanese people increased dramatically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. While reading, I could see that even though Americans were "afraid" of the Japanese, the Japanese people were better treated in some cases than the African American or the Native Americans. Internment camps were set up for the Japanese. Some were put onto Indian reservations. In the story, the Japanese people create their own sort of home. I really admire they sense of "Shikata ga nai," (It cannot be helped). Even through the worst conditions they made the best of it. If that were me, I do not think I would look at it in the same light. Bravery, courage, and friendship are important aspects in the book. Sumiko learns what a true friend feels like, while she her self is learning who she is as a person. I really enjoyed this book and it opened my eyes to something I did not even know happened in the country I have lived in my whole life. 

Rapunzel's Revenge

Rapunzel's Revenge

Written by Shannon and Dean Hale

Illustrated by Nathan Hale
Graphic novel  

Was Rapunzel really the damsel in distress? Not in this book!! Rapunzel defends the towns people, who are held under her "Mother" Gothel's spell. She knows there is a way to stop the magic, she just has to escape this monstrous tower, the horrendous animals, and the gruesomely evil bandits. This book grabs you from the moment you start. I was hooked into the story from page two. The authors keep the adventure and mysteries coming! I have never read a graphic novel before, so this was a new experience for me. I could tell that this would be great for students who really are not that into reading. It made the female character look strong and brave. When I picture Rapunzel, I picture the damsel in distress, not a strong fierce woman, who will help everyone and stop at nothing to save the people under Mother Gothel's reign. The illustrations in the story made the text pop out. The way the scenes are arranged makes it easy to follow along with the story and not to skip ahead, because you might miss something important! I really liked the flow of the story. It did not give you too much information about the plot right away, but left you guessing and wanting to know more about what each character was like in the past. The flashback scenes, were my favorite. I liked how the illustrator used different shades of browns to show the difference between the flashbacks and present scenes. It allowed you to be able to tell the difference with out having second guesses. I really enjoyed this book! It would be great for boys and girls! There is a lot of action and bandit butt kicking, perfect for boys!! 

Crow Boy

Crow Boy
Written by Taro Yashima
Picture book 5

When I first started to read this book and the children were being mean to the little boy, I was not very happy. I was not sure where the book was going. It made me feel bad for the young boy, because he was being teased. I was teased when I was about his age too. I understand what it feels like and there are other students who can relate to him as well. The students in the school call him Chibi, which in Japan means small. He is considered different because of his fascination with bugs and the environment and the fact that he is not interested with school. They do not realize what Chibi is going through until the end of their schooling days. The realized how far he has to walk to school each day to get to school. They all felt bad for making fun of him, when they did not even take the chance to get to know him. The illustrations in the story also go along well with the text. When Chilbi was upset in the classroom and did not want to see the other students teasing him, he would cross his eyes. The illustrations in the book on that page were also in double vision. I really liked that they incorporated that detail into the illustrations. There was nothing that I did not like from this book. The lesson behind the story was good and it was also portrayed in a way that everyone could relate to either by being the person getting teased or the person teasing.

Chato and the Party Animals

Chato and the Party Animals
Written by Gary Soto
Illustrated by Susan Guevara
Picture book 4

We all know a person who always knows how to bring a party down, but have you ever stopped to think about what is wrong with him or her? In this story, Novio Boy has never had a birthday party of his own. His best friend Chato decides to give him the best surprise party ever! Everyone has arrived and the party is hot, but where is Novio Boy??? Chato forgot to invite him to his own party!!! This book is full of laughs and great fun! It also teaches some new Spanish words to the child or adult who is reading it. I loved how the Spanish words were just placed into the text. It made it flow very easily and from the context clues you could derive the meaning of the word with out looking it up.  The illustrations in the book were very interesting. All of the picture books I have read so far have been realistic looking. The illustrator used cartoon like style to represent the story. It make the funny parts in the story that much more comical. This book discusses friendship, community relationships and teaches children about the Latino culture. I really enjoyed this book and learning new words to add to my vocabulary!

The Sea, the Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle by Lynne Cherry

The Sea, the Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle
Written by Lynne Cherry
Picture book 3

This book was very informational. I loved how it talked about all of the plants and animals that work together to create the ecosystem they live in. It had a lot of connections that could be put into use in the classroom. Integrating it with science would be the main one. You could teach about ecosystems or different animals from those ecosystems. It would be a fun project for third or fourth graders to build their own replica ecosystem. That would be a great way to incorporate art within the lesson as well. I really enjoyed that it talked about how the mangroves are being non-existent. It is important for children to know what is going on in the world and for them to think of idea on how to fix the issues. Some of the issues may be too big for the child to fix on his or her own, but you allow the child to get creative with idea that everyone could do together! I love the environment and learning about different ecosystems and animals that live there. This book was fun and informational. The illustrations of the different animals and how they work together are beautiful. They really allow you to see the animals in the ecosystem together, not just individually. It would be great for any classroom or any home!

Luba and the Wren by Patricia Polacco

Luba and the Wren
By Patricia Polacco
Picture book 2

This is a folk tale from Ukraine. A young girl saves a Wren in the forest, not knowing it is an enchanted Wren. He tells her because she was so kind, he will grant her any wish she chooses. When she went home to tell her parents they begged her to go and ask for a bigger house and more fertile land. Her parents kept asking for more and more! She was getting disappointed with her parents, but she wanted to make them happy, so she kept asking the Wren for all the things her parents wanted. When they finally asked for too much than she could handle, she still went to the Wren. Finally when she returned home, it went back to the way it was in the beginning. She was so happy to see her mother and father happy as well. Finally, things went back to normal!

This had a great moral and would be great for a kindergarten or 1st grade lesson, on being content with what you have. The illustrations in the book, beautifully represent the Ukraine country. The colors on the houses and the details showing you the economic upgrade her parents ask for are very realistic. When I read this book there was a page, I was confused about when reading. It felt like there was a page missing. I could not follow the story line. When I did research on the story, all of them seemed to have that "gap." I think it could be used for  the children to think about what they would have done in that situation and make them understand the moral of the story.

The Chicken that Could Swim, Written and Illustrated by Paul Adshead

The Chicken that Could Swim
Written and Illustrated by Paul Adshead
Picture book1

This book took the story of the ugly duckling and gave it a completely new spin. The Man who loves Birds, felt extremely bad for Silky the chicken for eating all of her eggs. He knew that she wanted to be a mother. When Rosemary, the white duck, laid her eggs, she was too eager to get up and move around. She left her nest! The Man took the eggs to Silky, who was patient and gentle with them, until they hatched. The Man felt bad about taking all of the eggs from Silky, so he left just one. This little "chicken" soon found out that she was not a chicken at all! She was a duck!!

This story was very cute. It would be great to use as an opening for a science lesson on the evolution of life, how the baby grows inside of the egg and then hatches. The illustrations bring the story to life and they show all the great details of all of the animals that live by the pond. There is also a great lesson in her. It is be happy with who you are and love the people around you. The little chicken that could swim showed that he was perfectly happy with being a swimming chicken, even meeting his other brothers and sisters could not change that!

Leon's Story by Leon Walter Tillage

Leon's Story
By Leon Walter Tillage

When I began to read this book, I thought it would be like all the other slavery/Jim Crow books I have read. I had an I have already a lot of books like this, can there really be that many books about the same thing kind of attitude. Well I was completely wrong! This book opened my eyes to the world of fear that African Americans lived in during this time. It was always really hard for me to connect to books about slavery, because I was never directly affected by it. This book made you feel like you were living in the south with Leon. You could feel the emotions that he was feeling, but you also had your emotions mixed in with his. The emotions this book brought out of me were ones of anger and disillusionment. It is hard to believe that people actually treated other human beings like this. It was a sad time for our country and the memory still haunts people, that is why the topic in this book is still hard to bring into any discussion. The fact that segregation happened about 120ish years ago sounds like it was a long time ago, but really 120 years is not that long ago if you think about the whole history of the United States and the world.

I would use this book for 6th grade and up. Some of the scenes in the book are depicted very graphically and could be hard for a younger student to wrap their mind around. It was hard for me as a young adult to wrap my head around, so I could not imagine using this book as a teaching tool to a younger audience than 6th grade. However, I do think that this story has great value and many positive conversations could come from reading this book. It would allow people to see what was going on in the south in a first person point of view, and feel the emotions that Leon was feeling. This is a very strong and powerful book, but it is one that needs to be addressed.

Cleopatra by Adele Geras

Cleopatra
By Adele Geras
Biography
Genre study 3

Where was this book when I was younger? I always wanted to be an Egyptologist when I was younger. This book was fascinating. I learned so much about the Egyptian culture and their way of life. It talked about the pharaohs and their way of life, but it also told about the people of Egypt and how they lived and survived. The illustrations in this story are fantastic! They are colorful and vibrant. The illustrations go great with the text and they allow you to see what Egypt was like at that time. I really connected to this story, because I have always been interested in Ancient Egypt. I had a blast reading it. I even read some of it to my younger brother, who was reading it over my shoulder. It was great to take me back to my elementary school days! :)

Eleanor Roosevelt-A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman

Eleanor Roosevelt-A Life of Discovery
By Russell Freedman
Biography
Genre study 2

When I selected this genre of books, I was not thrilled at all. I love fantasy and mystery books! Non-fiction, biographical just did not get me excited  to read. When I began reading this book, it read very easily. The author drew you into the story and made you feel like you could really connect to the Roosevelt family. It gave you a great sense of who Eleanor was and what she believed in. I had no previous knowledge of anything that Eleanor had accomplished, except being FDR's wife. I did not know how influential in his policies she was or the work she did around the world. She is a great role model for any citizen in the world to follow. The photographs and news clippings that were chosen in the book reflected what was being talked about in the story and made the impact of what she did feel that much more realistic, you could see it being played out in your head. I really enjoyed learning about this book and seeing all that she accomplished even into her late 60's early 70's. It makes me feel like I can be doing so much more with my life that I am now.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Illustrated by Mary Azarian

Snowflake Bentley
By Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Illustrated by Mary Azarian
Biography 1

I really enjoyed how this book told the story of Wilson Bentley. It was very readable and contained a lot of information on his life. My favorite part of the book was the excerpts of information on the sides of the pages. It allowed the reader to be able to understand what was going on in his life at that time and why he was doing the things he was doing. The illustrations in the book went a long with the story as well. From the illustrations you could tell what was going on in the book without having to read the words. That allows the book to be great for all ages. It could be read to a kindergarten class or even to a third grade class if they are studying weather. There are many great ideas that this book could be used for...the possibilities are endless! I could really relate to this book, because it would have been a book I would have chosen this book when I was in first or second grade to read. The pictures in the book are beautiful and that alone would have had me captivated for hours.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Princess Academy
By Shannon Hale
Newbery Honor Book

Have you ever wondered what it took to be a princess? Could you imagine leaving your family to find out? Miri was a 14 year old girl living in the territory on Mount Eskel with her sister and her father. They were all quarry members. They worked hard for the stone they collected and were in turn treated unfairly by the lowland tradesmen. One day all of the girls were taken against their will to the princess academy. Faced with complying or returning to Mount Eskel as a disgrace to their family, the girls went through the program all secretly dreaming about wanting to marry the Prince.

This book is filled with many twist and turns. It keeps you on your toes and completely engaged. I really connected with some of the girls in the book. We all know what it feels like to be disliked for sticking up for something you believe in of for speaking out when someone is treating you unfairly. This book would be great to show how the character develops and learns from her mistakes. It is also a great book about friendship and working hard to achieve what you want! While I was reading the book, in my head I had a picture of how I wanted it to go (in a perfect world), but the author, Shannon Hale, had another idea that left you guessing what was going to happen. It was well written and you were able to see all of the characters and picture the mountain and the lowlands. Princess Academy is a great realistic fiction book, it keeps its reader engaged and there is never a dull moment it the book!!

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Ninth Ward
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
Coretta Scott King Honor Book

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, no one knew the levees would break. The lower Ninth Ward was a disaster. The houses that were not torn apart from the hurricane were washed away by the flood. The lower ninth ward has still not recovered from this storm today. This book gives the reader a great personal story of what the hurricane was like that night. It put it into perspective that people lived through this storm, not everyone was able to evacuate the city.

This story is very emotional and powerful. I have been to New Orleans many times to volunteer. I've seen the disaster first hand and I have talked to the people who lived through it and some of the people who were able to escape. The people in the story greatly resemble the people who do live in New Orleans. They are all very faithful people and believe that there was a reason for the storm and they will become stronger because of it. The moral of the city was extremely low, but you had people like Lanesha, who would not give up until they were all safe.

The author uses her love for reading in the words that the main character, Lanesha, uses. She is a brave young woman, who is forced to take care of a dog, her dying mother, Mama Ya-Ya, and her best friend, TaShon. She had to be the one to make sure they were all well prepared so they could survive through the night and maybe a couple of days. She used her and Mama Ya-Ya's great gifts to survive through the storm, along with her great planning. This is a great book for discussing character traits! It could be incorporated into a science lesson about weather, and then tied into history, since this was one of the most devastating storms of the last decade.

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? By Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Caldecott Honor book

Grace for President
By Kelly DiPucchio
Published by Hyperion Books for Children 2008
Monarch Award nominee

Ladies, have you ever thought of becoming the President of the United States of America? Well Grace Campbell was SO shocked, when she learned that there has NEVER been a female president. She decided she was going to run. She did not know she was running against Thomas Cobb! He was great at everything and everyone liked him. This story reminded me of the tortoise and the hare. There was a great moral to never give up and strive to what you want to do and what you believe in! I loved the illustrations that went with the text and how some of the text was incorporated into the illustrations. It made the book come to life! It showed the hard work that both of the candidates put into their campaigns and it showed some of the not pleasant sides of their campaigns! Over all this book was enjoyable and fun! It shows the reader that he or she can do whatever he or she puts their mind to, even becoming the first female president. It also teaches aspects of social studies by teaching the process of the campaigns and how the electoral votes work in the United States.