Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

I love love loved this book. (That sentence was inspired by Jack.) Right away I had such a deep connection to Jack. I remember when I was in middle school, my language arts teacher would collect our writing assignments in a large stack. The next day, she would kneel down beside my desk and ask if she could read mine out loud. "Only if you don't say who it's by," I would always say. I did not want anyone knowing it was me. Even today, I feel much more comfortable openly expressing myself when I know my name is not attached to it. So Jack and I hit it off right away. I knew where he was coming from.

This book is really special to me not only because the story is the sweetest thing I have ever heard (seriously!), but also because my mom read it to me. Yep, my mom read me this book this last weekend when I was laying sick on the couch. I cannot remember the last time she read me a book. I'm sure it hasn't been since I was a little girl. But I would suggest it to all of you. Sit down with your mom and read a book. And, I would recommend it be this one. It is powerful and playful and funny and sad and heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. My mom and I cried about Sky. We laughed at Jack's defeated remarks about poetry. It was a time we spent together that I really appreciate and will always remember.

And every time Jack said his dog was bark bark barking, my heart melted. I will most definitely have this book in my classroom when I am a teacher. More importantly, I will most definitely have this book on my shelf at home. Maybe even on my nightstand to keep it close.

Love love love.

long night moon by Cynthia Rylant

Quiet. This book is a very quiet book, one to read snuggled in bed, toes wiggling, hushed voices, nightlight on. The pages are dark, done in sharp blues and deep blacks. The light of the moon reflects off snowy banks and spring flowers. Though birds are flying and raccoons bantering playfully across the pages, I feel calm. Even the tiny clicking of the keys as my fingers graze the keyboard seems a disruption to these quiet nights.

This book is really not what I expected it to be. There are no characters save the moon who changes with each month. In January he is the Stormy Moon, October the Acorn Moon, and finally, the Long Night Moon of December. "This is the faithful moon." And isn't that true? December nights are the deepest, fullest blacks and blues. The Earth seems to hold its breath; the land is hushed, silenced by a blanket of downy snow.

My favorite moon, though, is June's Strawberry Moon. The soft cursive script glows slightly pink, and the light of the fireflies mimics that of the moon. The moon, too, hints soft pink, peeking out from behind the trunk of a large tree. The illustrations are breathtaking. It is definitely one you should pick up and see.

I Wonder Why by Lois Rock

If I ever need a book to introduce a science unit to elementary school kids, I will turn to this book. This is a book full of curiosity. It asks about clouds - why are they pink when the sun is yellow? It asks about rivers. Do they ever get tired and want to stop flowing? This book really makes the reader turn into himself to search for the answers. It made me question myself. What are my beliefs? Because the book offers no answers. There are only questions. The reader must find the answers in and of himself.

When I was reading this book, I imagined a group of kids from one neighborhood. Exhausted from running around all day in the hot, sticky summer heat, they finally slow down, collapsing on a bed of grass still smelling that freshly-cut smell. Their arms tucked behind their heads, they at first just lay there and simply be. The kids look into the sky and muse silently about the clouds drifting lazily by overhead. Each child sees his own image - a cat, a trumpet, shady tree drawn out in fluffy white, personal to only him. Finally the internal becomes external, one child sparking the timeless conversation about cloud shapes. "Do you see that one that looks like an umbrella?" "Umbrella! That's a kangaroo!"

This book is great because every question is open to interpretation. There is no prescription of what to see, no incorrect responses. You personalize the story as you see fit, just as the clouds whisp in marshmallowy shapes that only you can see.

A Lot of Otters by Barbara Helen Berger

This story was very short and sweet. Our library has it marked for preschoolers, probably due to the short sentences on each page. However, the story was one you have to think about.

Mother Moon is looking for her "moonlet" child. On the page, we see a baby boy in a cardboard box, holding a book. I thought the baby was reading the book. Confusion number one. When the baby drops the book into the sea, some silly sea otters pick it up, reading it to one another as they swim along on their backs. The story is about Mother Moon, who has lost her moonlet. When she cries, her tears appear as stars. The otters dive deep down to the bottom of the sea and collect shiny bright stars from the ocean floor. When they bring them up to the surface, Mother Moon notices them and finds her baby. The baby she was looking for is the baby in the cardboard box, floating in the sea.

The illustrations in this book are awesome. She uses numerous blue colors for the sea, adding in tiny white bubbles and waves when the otters swim in it. The stars literally shine on the page. They make the page bright and enchanting. This was a fun book for young kids. It is one I would read before nap time, because the words are quiet and the moon is out.

William and the Night Train by Mij Kelly

In my Block A class, we are talking about helping kids read more deeply into books. One way to help students get the most out of their literature is encouraging them to ask questions about the book. This book would be a good choice for scaffolding this process. I caught myself wondering, is there really a night train? Does William really think he is getting on a train? Or is he just asleep in his bed? Is this a one-time trip on the night train, or does William ride it every night? All of these questions would be fun to explore with children. It would be interesting to see if they read into the story literally or symbolically. What does the night train mean to them?

The story is a fun one for kids. The text rhymes, lightly dancing off the tongue. The tale follows William, who boards the night train amidst "zookeepers, shopkeepers, writers and fighters" and "babies in bundles" all searching for sleep. William, though, is wide awake. He wants to explore the train, crawling over the sleeping passengers, looking forward to tomorrow. Not only is the message fun, but the text itself is fun. The font varies in size and swirls around the page in the shape of the smoke emitting from the train's smokestack.

Just as the story was enchanting, so too were the illustrations. Though it is a story about nighttime and "sleepyheads," every page is filled with bright blues, yellows, and greens. Toward the end of the book, the illustrations start including fluffy white sheep. The first time through the book I did not realize their importance. Looking back, though, I know they arrive when William starts to finally feel the weight of sleep behind his eyes. Of course, sheep are traditionally counted by people to help put them asleep. They work even for wide awake William.

The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco

I would consider this book the literary equivalent of a slap in the face. The story itself is not so much of a slap - it is a childrens story about friendship and hope. So how can that possibly be a bad thing? Let me count the ways...

As I was reading this book, I found myself rolling my eyes. Right away, I became annoyed. The girls' fifth grade? (I might have made that up) teacher holds up lemons to her classroom every day before the bell rings for dismissal. "What do we do when life gives us lemons? We turn them into something sugary and sweet; lemonade!" she cheers. I am sorry, but if one of my teachers repeated this cliche, overly cheese-ified line every day, I might lose my mind. And perhaps this is the cynic in me coming out. Maybe I simply was unable to revert back to my fifth grade self while reading this book. Maybe if I were a fifth grader reading it, I would wonder why my teacher did not encourage us in this way. At this point, I just couldn't handle it.

There were two things that were even more upsetting to me about this book. One was Marilyn's (one of the young students) distress about her weight. As I was reading, I thought to myself, do kids this young worry about being five pounds heavier than their best friend? Because Marilyn looked no bigger than her friend in the illustrations. Is this really an issue suitable for students in fifth grade? A few extra pounds?

What was most disheartening to me about the book, though, was the relationship the two girls had with their teacher. The teacher talked to the girls about her fiance and personal life in a way that I thought crossed the line. When I was reading this book I was scribbling furiously in my notebook in response to this relationship. "Unprofessional!" I wrote. "The student/teacher relationship lines have been blurred!" "The teacher is in no position to share that kind of personal information with her students!" As a future teacher, it is very important to me that teachers have a close, trusting, and open relationship with their students. However, it is the teacher's responsibility to keep some sort of professional distance. Unfortunately, I think the professional boundaries were overstepped in this story.

You're probably still wondering how this could be considered a slap in the face. I wrote "unrealistic" in my notebook five times while reading this book, mostly in response to the student/teacher relationship. When I turned the last page of the book, though, guess what I found. A picture of the three real-life characters - two students and a teacher about whom this story was based. Whoops. I guess it is possible; obviously, it has to be, since this story happened. It just didn't come off as real to me.

It really was a story with good intentions. Unfortunately, I just was not able to believe it. This one probably will not appear in my classroom library.

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff

Yes, I have chosen an "if you give a girl a gimmick" book, as my teacher would say. I can't help it - I'm in love. This book is the cutest thing in the whole world. Something about cats, my favorite animal in the whole world, and cupcakes (with sprinkles), my favorite food in the whole world, is completely irresistible to me. Come on. On the first page, the cat is flying in the air holding a cupcake in his tiny right paw - just complete elation. That cat is the happiest cat I have ever seen. It's great.

The first time I ever read this book was in front of two classes of completely hyper Kindergartners. I was there as an Iowa cheerleader and our mascot, Herky, was sitting criss cross applesauce on the carpet, poking fun at kids while I read. It could have been complete chaos. Anytime there is a giant, black and gold bird in the room adorned in football pads and jersey, there is the potential for stampedes, screaming, running, band-aids, pandemonium. I was lucky. Apparently I had chosen a good book. With thirty-some pairs of eyes upon me, (a few were still understandably hooked on Herky) I dove into the book.

The Kindergarteners and I followed a silly cat on his wandering dreams of cupcakes and swimtrunks on the beach, to kung-fu kitty and back all in the name of sprinkles and cupcakes. The story really reminded me a lot of the Stinky Face book I have already blogged about. Both are about imaginations running wild, one thing leading to another as the main character slides down a slippery slope of adventures until, finally, he makes his way back to home base. When I read the ending, "And chances are, if you give him some sprinkles..." I paused as I turned the last page. The kids all yelled "He'll want a cupcake to go with them!" before I could even open my mouth. Great story and audience participation all in one. Yep. I was in love.

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

Naturally my eye would be drawn to a book about a penguin named Tacky who wears a Hawaiian shirt. I was honestly laughing out loud during this book. Tacky's comparison to his penguin companions, appropriately named Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect is hilarious; they are polar opposites. The other penguins are shown gracefully diving into the ocean; Tacky, wearing a floaty tube, orange swim trunks, and a pink swim cap, is described as doing "splashy cannonballs."

"Splashy cannonballs" is an example of what I really liked about this book: the descriptive, action-packed language. The hunters approach with "maps and traps and rocks and locks, and they were rough and tough" and they "thump...thump...thump"-ed their way toward the penguins, "penguins" at one point spelled with five n's. This kind of text would be something really interactive for kids to read. It is a text that is easy to animate vocally. When I read it, I can hear how I would read it aloud to students, switching from deep timbres for the "thumps" to the nasally, tacky voice Tacky uses to chant, "What's happenin!" I cannot wait to sit down with a child and read this text aloud.

What is awesome about Tacky, too, is that he saves the day not because he is the coolest penguin in the pack. He saves the day because he has enough strength of character to behave in the way truly depicts himself. Tacky the Penguin gives value to the outliers in the classroom, the kids who march a beat of their own. It shows that these students are special in their own ways. They can be confident in who they truly are. Tacky was, and his differences become a cause for celebration. Differences are okay. In fact, they are the basis of this nation. Hurray for Tacky.

little blue and little yellow by Leo Lionni

I think I have mentioned once (or probably, numerous times) that I would really like to teach Kindergarten. I love little kids and the curriculum for that age. One of my favorite things ever to talk to kids about is color. It is such a tangible thing for children. They can see the difference between reds and blues and greens. They know that the sky is blue... but then ask them if it is always blue and they discover that it can morph into greys and purples, blacks and pinks. And every kid has a favorite color. It's hard to strike out with little kids when you're dealing with color. It's usually always a winner.

This book was definitely a winner for me. Looking at the cover, I expected a watered down depiction of how two colors, in this case blue and yellow, can combine to create new colors, green here. I was so excited that the book went way beyond factual descriptions. The first page introduces the reader to little blue, a little blue circle. He lives at home with his parents, and he loves playing with his best friend, little yellow. The personification of the colors is so clever. They literally become alive, little blue and little yellow forming green when their colors melt together in the midst of a hug. This story kind of sneaks in the factual information behind the facade of a story about friends. It is a great "head fake" book. The kids would read this book because it is an enjoyable story, but they are digesting factual information at the same time.

One thing that I thought was really cute but overlooked was the character naming. "Little blue" and "little yellow" were so incredibly simple. I realized today that they are perfect names for Kindergarten to first grade aged children. I was volunteering today and two little girls, one in Kindergarten, the other in first grade, wanted me to play haunted house with them. I was going to be a ghost, the Kindergartner a vampire, the first grader a werewolf. When asked what our names would be, the Kindergartner replied, "Little ghost, little vampire, and little werewolf." Perfect. The names were such a small detail in the book, yet they were entirely suitable for the age range. Text-to-life connection? Check.

Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau & Scott Magoon

I feel like most childrens' books always present things as being pretty - it is rare to find a picture book with something "ugly" as the main focus. Of course, I think Ugly Fish is really cute, but that's beside the point. "Ugly" caught my eye right away. And once I saw the picture of Ugly Fish, I was hooked. (Ha, no pun intended.) I brought the book home to read with my roommate who loves loves loves fish. He kind of resembles Ugly Fish in a way, too. :) I digress.

I knew this was going to be a good book for me right away. The dedication reads, "For all the ugly fish swimming around out there- you know who you are." Already smiling, I proceeded to open the book. I love love loved this book. The pictures were simple and funny. The text was simple and funny. There's nothing more perfect for kindergartners.


Ugly Fish is a book to have fun with. Even the text formating is fun and interactive for kids. It swirls around the page, following Ugly Fish as he chases Kissy Fish, mouth open wide, eyes focused on his delicious snack. The words are repetitive, making it easy for kids to follow and giving them a pattern to enhance beginning reading.

I think I hit the jackpot with this book. At the very least, it was perfect for my roommate. We really enjoyed reading about Ugly Fish. It is a fresh approach to dealing with bullying set in a context of humor and sooooo cute fish.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

The illustrations in this book were amazing. I have never seen so many shades of blue in my life. They transform the story, taking us from daylight to the tones of midnight blues and back again into the light blues of morning. It would be fun to go through them and name them fun crayon names with kids. The illustrations are also intriguing because they come from many different perspectives. We see the peoples' views from the ground, looking up hundreds of stories to see a man dancing in the middle of the air, framed by the moonlight. We also see what the man would see, looking down from the tallest of buildings with no net to save him, only the traffic below. Illustrations such as these show us the freedom the man describes feeling when he is in the air; we see that there are literally no boundaries. He is alone in the air, touching nothing but the thin rope between his feet. He has become a bird and we, as readers, have as well.

When I read this book, I was thinking about my trip to New York City. I must have been in fifth or sixth grade at the time. My family went over to Ellis Island and my aunt pointed out the towers when we were on the ferry. "They're called the Twin Towers," I remember Aunt Linda telling me. "But if you look closely, you can tell they're not actually the same size. One is taller than the other." I remembered thinking those two buildings were pretty spectacular. This book definitely had an emotional connection for me. It brought me back to that summer and the innocence with which I had looked at the towers. I would have never in my wildest dreams thought about those towers falling to the ground one day. This book is written from a voice of the same innocence. There is admiration not only for the incredible act performed between the two structures, but for the memory of the buildings themselves.

This book is elegant and adventurous. It was surprising and intriguing. I was amused when the judge sentenced the tightrope walker to performing his talent in the park. It made light of a potentially heavy situation. The book, like the blues meticulously painted throughout, was wistful and delicate and exciting. I loved it.

Two Old Women by Velma Wallis

I started reading Two Old Women by Velma Wallis for my Native American literature class. It had never crossed my mind that the book might be appropriate for kids until my professor mentioned that it was actually written for children. There are a handful of pictures sprinkled throughout the 140 pages, and the the text is relatively large for an adult novel. Although the subject may be somewhat obscure for children, the themes running throughout are appropriate for all ages. As it mentions on the cover of the book, Two Old Women is a tale of "betrayal, courage and survival," all of which are accessible ideas for even young kids.

I was really intrigued from this story from the very beginning. Velma Wallis mentions in the introduction that it is a tale that had been passed down through time in her community; her mother had told it to her and she is forwarding it to her readers. Although it was dense with survival techniques and descriptions of the way of life on the land, I particularly enjoyed the communicative exchanges in the book. The Alaskan tribe in this book had been cultured to talk to each other singularly about events affecting their daily survival. There is a point in the middle of the book when the two women open up to each other under the guise of survival; however, they really open up the lines of communication on an emotional, affective level. Just as a reader, I felt an intense release at this point. I cannot imagine how the women felt after being bottled up for so long!

To me, Two Old Women is a replacement for Hatchet or Brian's Winter in the classroom setting. (Even though I did love both of those books when I was younger!) This has a similar facade of survival and strength. However, it simultaneously conveys messages of culture, pride, and friendship that might be lacking in the other books. I think it is intriguing, too, that this story has great importance in the Gwich'in culture. It would be fun for students to hear a traditional tale from this perspective. It is definitely a book around which a theme unit could be born.

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon

My roommate was making fun of me the whole time, but I was CRACKING UP at this book. It was so funny! I'm not sure I really even know what it was that was funny - the illustrations, the situations the characters found themselves in, or the sound effect words that popped up throughout the novel. It was probably a combination of all three. Either way, I just loved this book.

There was such a strong feeling of companionship in this book. Dog has been searching for a friend for a long time. Finally, he builds Robot, and they are instant besties, if you will. They make popcorn together, tuck each other into bed, and perform moves synchronize swimmers would be jealous of. They are two peas in a pod.

Sadly, the book is also incredibly tragic. Dog is forced to leave Robot behind after he rusts on the beach. The duration of the book shows Dog and Robot dreaming about their long lost friend. I might not be doing this portion of the book, but trust me, it was tragic. I was really upset.

The fact that this book garnered such an emotional response from me is really telling of its quality. It is so easy to relate to the characters. Everyone wants to find that one friend you can make popcorn with and synchronize swim in the ocean with. Unfortunately, many of us also lose that friend. This just shows one way people might go about handling these points in life.

I would highly recommend this book to people of all ages. I'm telling you, I was laughing so hard during it. The next second, I was ready to cry. Maybe I'm just an emotional wreck. I would like to say I doubt it, though. I think this is just a great book. :)

Oops by Arthurt Geisert

I am the most accident prone person I know. It's my combination of clumsy, awkward, and kind of spacey that really makes me prone to the most bizarre circumstances one could ever find herself in. I picked up this book simply based on the title. I knew immediately that I would have a strong connection to the book because "oops" - well, actually "oopsy" - is one of the most frequently used words in my vocabulary.

Fortunately for me, I have never been this unlucky. Everyone has heard of the phrase, "Don't cry over spilled milk." The family in this story has major reasons to disagree. One of the kids in the story innocently knocks over his glass of milk at dinner time. Rightly so, the family thinks nothing of it. Little do they know, this glass of spilled milk will probably cause major tears in the future. It leads to the complete destruction of their home.

I thought the premise for this story was really fun. It is imaginative and dramatic, so it is a blast for kids to see. Of course, the plot is so situational it makes the story completely out there. Had one object been moved slightly to the left or right, this disaster could have been avoided. That is something fun for kids to think about. In fact, my 20-year-old roommate still does this. He likes to make fun of the stupid situations I get myself into by going back and analyzing how the disaster could have been avoided had one small detail changed.

Oops is light and humorous. It is fun for kids (and adults) to allow their imaginations to wander into that "what if" place. What if a puddle of milk could really cause a house to be completely destroyed? Would milk be more expensive because it is incredibly dangerous? And would it have to be just milk? Would orange juice have the same effects or would they be lessened by the thinner beverage?

Could this happen to me?

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

I thought this book was so cute! The cover got me right away, the big fat snowman with his tiny scarf and thin smile. I could feel the excitement of the young boy when he woke up to see snow falling outside his window. It is a feeling every kid can relate to; the first snow is the most exciting of the season! And the snowman is the ultimate outdoor activity in the winter.

I loved the snowman in this book because he is different from the stereotypical snowman. Instead of three giant snowballs composing his body, this snowman has real legs and arms. His nose is not made from the typical carrot. Instead, the young boy gave him an egg for a nose. These unique touches gave the book and the snowman a very personal feel.

While reading this book, I kept catching myself thinking about the last snowman my cousins and I constructed. Every winter, my whole family meets in Indianapolis to celebrate Christmas. My sophomore year in high school (my cousins were both in college at this time), it snowed a ridiculous amount. We loved it. It was the light, fluffy, airy snow - perfect for playing in. My two cousins, Erin and Megan, and I ran outside and built our own snowman. The rest of our family made fun of us for it because it took us hours (with little proof of that kind of effort) and we were "too old" for snowmen, but my cousins and I loved him. We took pictures and it never fails for one of us to bring our snowman up at Christmas time. Reading this book reminded me of the feeling you get, even as adults, while building a snowman. It instantly reverts you back to childhood. I think it's time my cousins and I construct the next version of our snowman.

A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog by Mercer Mayer

Mercer Mayer was one of my favorite authors as a child. His critters were always my favorites. This book, like the ones I was familiar with as a child, also incorporates a friendship with animals. In it, a young boy and a dog set out on a journey to capture frogs. They see a big, fat frog sitting atop a lily pad and set off running to catch him in their net. They are unprepared for the playful frog's cunning nature and skill at escaping their grasp. When the boy and his dog finally give up and head for home, the frog joins his new friends.

This story is really a prime example of a tale that can be told without the use of words. The facial expressions of the boy, the dog, and the frog show every emotion, every feeling and thought. Words would only detract from the subtlety of the book and its messages.

A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog is a simple tale about a boy and his adventure with his dog and frog. It is very light-hearted and playful. This book is most appropriate for young children - the plot is simple and the progressions from scene to scene are easy to understand. This book would be great to use with children who are not yet able to read as well as kids who are not confident in their reading skills. Putting a book in their hands can show them that reading can be fun and, perhaps more importantly, that they have the ability to read a book. A teacher can remind them that this book, though it has no words, requires reading skills.

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman

The cover of this book is very indicative of what lies beneath. There appears to be no title, not even an author's name. There is no background. The only thing we see is a young girl running, to where we are unsure. She is carrying a red book, why we do not know. Much is left to our imaginations. We must fill in the blanks ourselves. Since The Red Book contains no words at all, we must continue to fill in blanks as we go along.

The Red Book's plot is very simple and easy to follow. This makes the book very appropriate for young kids. However, the same fact also makes it appropriate for older students as well. They can put their own spin on what is happening in the pictures. They might imagine an exact location for the island of the boy with the matching red book. They might even come up with a name for the island. They are able to determine why it is that the girl decides to leave her normal life to see the young boy and how much time has elapsed in their relationship. The pictures are simple and step by step. This offers young readers an easy understanding of the book and leaves plenty of room for an open interpretation by more advanced readers. In fact, the ending of the book is not really an ending at all. The reader must decide what happens with the magical red book and its new owner after they close the book.

The Red Book is imaginative and fun for readers of all ages. Like the girl in the story, it allows you to fly away on a balloon, using your imagination to interpret the story and personalize it to suit what you believe is happening and why.

You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser

When I heard the title of this book, I knew I wanted to read it. There's something about little kids and balloons - adventures are sure to follow such a vulnerable couple closely. Of course, reading is used loosely in this situation, since there is no text in the book; occasionally a word on a sign pops up, but I hardly think that counts. Illustrations instead tell the story, a whimsical tale that follows the balloon's flight through the city. More and more interesting characters join the chase for the balloon while the balloon's owner explores the Metropolitan Museum with her grandma.

The illustrations in this book were fantastic. Every page was incredibly detailed, down to the varying expressions on passersby and the landscape of the city. Most pages are primarily in black and white. The only colors are those of the balloon and its pursuers at the time. This helps the reader focus on the story being told. The paneling in the book, as in graphic novels, shows the plot progression, also organizing the tale.

What is especially intriguing about the book is the relationship between the balloon's adventure and the works of art the girl is seeing. This hints at a relationship between art and real life - perhaps that art indeed functions as a mirror of real life. The book incorporates real pictures of statues and paintings, all of which are viewed at the same time something similar is happening in the balloon's journey.

The lack of words in this book does not inhibit the plot. In fact, it allows the reader to be more imaginative in his or her telling of the story. He can make up what he wants the girl's name to be, what the dialogue may be, and what his truths are. The story was imaginative and fun and allows the reader to be imaginative and have fun.