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.