Final Reflection

Well I have my tweed jacket on, drinking Starbucks and I made my way to an Internet Cafe to do my bloggi.......oh wait, blogging isn't just for the yuppie types. I do have to say that this class was a great eye opener as far as what I have learned about children's literature. the amount of information gained while discussing various texts really opened up my eyes to just how many different types of books there actually are. I now have the confidence to say that I do know Children's Literature and I will not be the teacher who conforms with the norm. A great book is not just one on the top ten seller list or covered with awards, a great book is great if it is great to just one person. That's not to say that other will not like it, but why do we care what other's really think. As long as the reader enjoys, learns, talks about or is happy with a book then who am I to tell them if it is good or not. This idea even more so applies to children's books. There are so many different books out there that will match perfectly with the wantings of an elementary schooler, and that's what makes books great. It's not like kids have to make a tough decision when it comes to books because there are soooo many different genres and stories out there that they are bound to find one they can relate to.

Something else I learned from this class is the power blogging has. Not so much for me with the power of getting my voice heard, just the idea that i could easily set up one of these for my class and allow parents the opportunity to look into the classroom whenever they want.

So here's to Children's Lit and here's to Blogging !!!

Cheers!

So Far From the Bamboo Grove

Is this really controversial? The book to me seems not very controversial at all......then again I am an American who doesn't really know anything about the Korean war and to me it just sounds like it was really rough. I most definitely liked this book better then the other one we had to read. the reading was much smoother and the story had a continuous flow from page to page. The author does a really good job of setting up the environment in which the characters are participating in. the end just seemed a little to ho hum for me. I mean the Brother was searching for a long time for his sisters and then BAM.....found them. It makes for a semi-happy ending despite the fact that mother dies in her daughters arms. I guess I don't know why she really died anyway. Was it because she had just given up hope that her family and relatives were still alive? I think that might have been the case. This was a very fast read as the author did well to keep the action up and the pages turning. you found yourself connecting more and more as you read, well as much as i can connect to a teen Japanese girl running from her life from soldiers during one of the most brutal wars we have seen, all the while not knowing if her father and brother were still alive, but yeah I kinda connected.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

WoW.....well let me start by saying if your attention span is no longer then the sentence I am writing now you may want to skip the first 10 chapters and get straight to the good stuff. The Year of Impossible Action...err ...Goodbyes was an extremely slooowww book to start off with. that's not to say the the ending really took off and made up for chapters 1-9 or whatever one it started getting good at, but my goodness it was a tough read. I am definitely the type of reader who needs constant stimulus while reading so I knew this book might not be right from me off the bat, but one can still hope. The whole premise and setting was excellent, don't really understand why it was controversial, I guess because someone got peed on? If this is the case then boy has controversy changed over the years, if you wait long enough I'm sure you will see controversy in the Ped mall at some point throughout the night in Iowa City then, maybe even an after hours. Anyway, The ending did make up for the slow start, I compare this book to a roller coaster, going up the hill is slow and boring, but once your off running you feel exhilarated, just like the last couple chapters.

Subway

This book of actions describes a trip on the subway. Hop, down, ride and rock are just some of the words used by Anastasia Suen to describe a families journey on the subway. The illustrations are great here too. Very bright and engaging. Many different shapes, patterns and colors used throughout every page. Could use in an elementary art class or just in a general classroom. I would definitely have this book in my library as it is bursting with color on every page.

Snow Flowy Blowy

A single word is used to describe the months of the year. This book is alright. Some great pictures, but is definitely geared towards really young kids. September was described as Droppy. Don't really get it. Looks in the picture that apples are dropping from the trees so I guess that's what they mean. Sneezy was for November cause I guess people get sick in November. The illustrations really make the book otherwise it would be a little below average. P.S. that's not the cover of the book. That image came up when I googled Snowy Flowy Blowy. Don't know why. Can anyone chime in on why this came up. The smiley face always reminds me of the CD cover to the soundtrack of Dazed and Confused. Maybe that movie has something to do with it.

Barn Cat

Carol Saul uses this book as a book for counting. A barn cat makes hi sway throughout the farm and sees many different animals along his journey. The pictures are very intriguing and do a good job of actually showing the numbers and the animals on the page. This story is a good one for younger children as it introduces numbers 1-10. I would definitely read this to younger children as the pictures are engaging and the author does a good job of incorporating unique animals like dragonfly's and grasshoppers.

Cowboy Camp

Tammi Sauer introduces us to Avery, a cowboy to be all mixed up. He hates grits and beans, is allergic to horses and gets rope burn from lassos. It is obvious that Avery is not cowboy material but events take place that just might change that. This is a cute story about an unlikely hero who just might end up saving the day. The illustrations are very well done also and also pull the reader into the story. I always thought it would be cool to grow up during the Old West.....then I thought about my bed, Wig and Pen, football and cars and I thought,"uhhhhh not so much"

The Giving Tree

What can you say about Shel Silverstein? His children's books are timeless. I remember reading them when I was younger and I see them today in every elementary classroom. I think that his stories are the equivalent to comfort food for me. Every time I see Light in the Attic or Where the Sidewalk Ends I immediately start flipping through for my favorite stories. The Peanut Butter one where the guy eats so many peanut butter sandwiches is my favorite. What Silverstein does with the Giving Tree is intertwine life between a boy and a tree. Almost in a way the tree represents god, if your religious or parents if your not. The tree constantly gives guidance and help to the boy asking nothing in return. A great story which every kid should have read to them by an adult , parent or loved one.

Frog's Best Friend

Marion Bauer writes a chapter book for a 1st or 2nd grader according to the reading level. I feel that this story would be a great way to also introduce Kindergartners to chapter books. Forest animals come alive as Baby Bear tries to befriend the other animals. Turtle stays strong in his shell and the other animals help turtle get away from baby bear. I kind of felt sad for baby bear. The book had other forest animals throwing rocks and stuff at baby bear which really doesn't show friendship very well. I wouldn't really recommend this book because it shows bears in a negative light, which really doesn't matter for me except that all baby bear was trying to do was make a friend of his own.

My World of Color

The first thing you will notice when opening this book are the breathtaking illustrations. Loretta Krupinski, the illustrator must be recognized for the vibrant color. I found myself looking more at the pictures then the words when I first read this story. I would flip to the other page just to see what the next picture looked like before I even read the page before. Margaret Brown writes a story that follows mice as they make their way through an adventure full of color and surprises. I recommend this book to anyone who loves art and color.

Meet My Staff

This is definitely an odd book, but it is fun all the same. A boy has his personal staff, which does everything from kiss his great aunt for him, fix his toys, do his laundry and crazy stuff like that. He has names for his helpers too. Gum Guy saves his gum for him when he goes to bed, Mozart the cat practices his piano and Homework Helper does his homework. The more I read this story the more I laughed at the people he had helping. Adults and children alike will find this an entertaining read. The picture are also a good laugh as they really delve into the helpers unique characteristics. I guarantee a laugh at Sir Yes, But.

Floating Home

David Getz gives us his take on space travel. After given an assignment to draw her house from an unusual perspective Maxine decides to do her assignment from outer space!! The story gives some actual information about what some astronauts have to do, like wear diapers and put on thermal suits. The pictures also do a great job of leading the reader through the story. The takeoff part was my favorite. The author gives detailed descriptions of what is going on. Some of the pages are really wordy so this book isn't designed for younger kids to read on their own, but it would be a great read aloud for the classroom.

Heidi's Zoo

Heidie's Zoo by Heidi Goennel is filled with wonderful illustrations. The painted pages really stand out with color and that is what drew my attention to this book. She tackles two letters at a time per page and paints marvelous pictures of animals or objects that start with that letter. It is definitely for younger children, but older children should appreciate the art work as well. This would be a great book to introduce to Kindergartners when talking about the alphabet.

Witch Mama

Witch Mama by Judith Caseley is a cute Halloween Story. It tells about a brother and sister, the sister's birthday is actually Halloween day, who spend Halloween having fun and Trick or Treating. There isn't much action going on in the book. The little brother is scared, but big sister helps him through it. In the end they find the Mom dressed up as a witch in the school trick or treating parade. Like I said cute book for younger students, but there are definitely more exciting ones out there.

Insect Invaders

This is a Magic School Bus book. If some of you were living under a rock during childhood and never read one of these great Magic School Bus Stories then you were missing out. Throughout the book Ms. Frizzle takes her children on her magical school bus which transforms the world her and her schoolchildren are inhabiting. In this book the children are taking a closer look at insects. The books are great because they have scientific information in the book in the form of notes written from different students. I recommend these small chapter books for 3/4 graders because they are still a little hard to read, but the material is geared toward younger students. It would also be a wonderful series to introduce science experiments or a lesson, because there are tons of different topics that the series covers.

Love That Dog

Hate this Book. Well maybe not so much. I accidentally read The Misfits instead of reading this one so I felt like I had to go back and look through it. It kind of reminds me of my post about the book The Dot. Kid thinks he's not good at something, teacher thinks otherwise and praises kid, kid then realizes it's easier then he thinks and ends up being wonderful. I will give the book a lot of credit for putting the actual poems that were referenced in the back. This gives children a chance to read more great poems and to be able to compare and contrast them on the spot. I guess the more I am actually writing about this book the more it is kind of growing on me. I have seen it in a lot of classrooms so most likely you will see it in mine.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Sylvester loved collecting pebbles of unusual shape and color. One day he found a special pebble, a flaming, red, shiny, and perfectly round, like a marble. He discovered it was a magical pebble as he held it and the rain stopped when he wished it. He was excited about the possibilities of getting everything he and his family wanted. But when a lion approached, he change himself into a rock. However, he was unable to change back because the pebble was next to him. In order for the magic to work, he needed to be touching the pebble. His parents and friends looked and looked for him. This caused his parents a lot of sorrow. One day, while eating lunch at the rock (Sylvester), his parents saw the pebble and placed it upon the rock because it reminded them of their son. When he realized he was touching the rock, Sylvester changed himself back and three were reunited. He knew that this is what he and his family wanted more than anything. Wasn't a big fan pf this book, don't know why just didn't really standout.

The Listening Walk

This is one of my favorite stories that I have rad so far. It is a story about a girl, her father and her dog, who take walks. While they walk, the girl listens to the sounds of the neighborhood. The story is great because you can have the kids do the sounds as you read. Would e more for a younger class, but I read this when I did my Science out at School of the Wild and all the kids who were 6 up to 12 really participated. Its a great story to have a lot of fun with, so really let your kids get into it.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

The Hello, Goodbye Window is a book about a young girl who spends time with her Nanna and Poppy at their big house. It looks like a regular window but it’s not. The large window is in the kitchen and becomes a focal point for family activity and interaction. It is a window to make silly faces in or tap on and duck under. It is a window where the three look out at the stars in the evening. From the window Nanna can be send spending time in the garden, and Poppy will play his harmonica. When Mommy and Daddy pick up the girl, the window is where they stop and blow kisses to Nanna and Poppy s they leave. The family is multicultural so would be a great diversity book to read to the class.

Heather Has Two Mommies

Obviously the story of lesbian parents. Great picture on page two of one of the mom's wearing a No Nukes shirt, very cliche I think. Granted the majority of people who support Gay and Lesbian rites are Liberal and most likely don't believe in Nuclear war (obviously) , but the whole shirt was just a little over the top. The book goes on to describe how different Heather is with her two mommies and she feels sad because she doesn't have a daddy, which is not true, because every child has to have a mom and a dad, but that would just be too confusing to explain in a children's book about lesbians, which in itself is difficult to explain. I didn't really find this book too controversial. At the program I work at we had siblings who had lesbian parents, and they would come and pick up the kids and even after hearing other kids ask, "You have two mom's?" The kids would answer yes and it would be left at that. No one really cared, I'm sure kids talked about it, but I never overheard anything and it seemed like maybe a big deal for all of 5 minutes. I also have a child who was adopted by two guy's, and I have never even heard a word mentioned to him before. Now this could all be due to the fact that we live in the most liberal town in Iowa, but for the record the students I see have done a fantastic job of minding their own business and not being mean to the students who do not have the traditional family. I'm catholic and when people ask me about gay marriage my response is, "If gay people want to be just as miserable as married people why not let them."

Mississippi Morning

Wow....you could kind of see this coming, but didn't want to believe it. Great story about a white boy growing up in 1933 Mississippi where racism runs deep. James hears from a "colored" friend of his LeRoy about a hanging tree, and he hears about the Klan (KKK) from his white friend Red. He asks his father about it and his Dad says they should be minding his own business. You kind of feel the tension start mounting in the story when James asks his dad about the Klan, and that's when you think "wellllll.....mayyybbe his dad...no couldn't be" then the last page. I don't really want to write anything more about it because it's kind of like an episode of a T.V. show where they leave a huge cliffhanger and you're all like "WHATT!"...sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I just really think you should check this book out on your own...Great story! Definitely my favorite book I have read so far.

It's Perfectly Normal

Well this book is helpful in explaining the body and sexual changes that occur throughout young age into adult hood. There are some pictures that will get a chuckle.... and I'm sure roaring laughter from children, but I would not read this to a class. It has pretty detailed pictures, not of actual sex organs, but cartoon drawings of sex organs. At first glance you might think that this book could help explain puberty to a young adult, but it kind of just dives right into sex. This book is actually kind of comical as I read through, a picture of a kid with a "boner", they actually call it that in the book, during class, that got a laugh out of me. They talk about male wet dreams and how your sheets get dirty, but its OK according to the book that just "means that washing machines are busy during puberty".....too funny.....well all in all I could see this book being controversial. Definitely up tight parents would not be reading this to their kids, while parents who allow their kids to "express themselves" will probably give it a thumbs up. I will mention that they do use scientific terms throughout the whole book and there are some great notes and details, but I would not recommend this for a classroom, but definitely to parents who are OK with this detailed of information.

Here is a great review that actaully explains it a little better than me

Be Boy Buzz

The first thing that stands out to me is the awful english being used. That may sound dumb, but to say, "I be boy." what kind of sentence is that. And then to say "be boy talking way to loud" so all boys talk loud? My last point here, and then I am going to be done, because I really didn't care for this book, is that to sum it all up read the back jacket flap of the book, first line, " A world-renowned cultural critic, feminist theorist, and intellectual, Bell Hooks......" So the author of a book about what it's like to be a boy is written by a feminist girl?....sound more like a plot to a soap opera then a children's book.

The Un-Wedding

This book was alright. I have never had to deal with divorce in my family, but have friends who's parents are divorced. It just seemed kind of silly to me that these kids would celebrate parents being divorced. Then to show that the parents built two separate houses on the same land and the kids use a secret tunnel to go back and forth also provides a false sense of what it will be like when families divorce. I didn't really find this book controversial as much as I found it extremely unrealistic. Obviously it's for younger kids and they try to make divorce seem like a good thing, which in some cases it can be, but they do not show the kids feeling's at all in this book. The cover shows it all with the two kids smiling while they cut the cake in half. Maybe you could read this to super young children, but for kids in 2nd grade and above, it would really give them a false view of what divorce is.

When Zachary Beaver Comes to Town

Toby is a child living in hard time in Antler, Texas. His girl is dating his buddy, his best friends brother is serving in Vietnam and his mom is off chasing her dreams, but something great is about to happen. Zachary Beaver, "the fattest boy in the world" is on his way into town. Toby and his best bud, Cal stir up trouble when their curiosity begins to get the best of them. As the boys start to see Zachary as not much of a sideshow freak , rather a boy just like them, they begin to grow.
I like this book a lot because when I was teaching a fifth grader who was reading at a 2nd grade level, we would read this book together. I would read the majority, while he would chime in here and there. He wasn't fat or overweight, yet I could see that he was relating to how Zachary felt when people would laugh at him for not being at the other kids level in school. He would never raise his hand or try and read in front of the class for fear of being made fun of, and it was tough on both of us, because I just wanted him to try. As it turned out the reading of the book was one of the times he most looked forward to during the week, and I used the viewing of the movie "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town " as motivation for him for the last half of the school year. I got him to read in front of the class, just a paragraph, and he did just fine. So we watched the first half on a Friday and the second half the next Friday. This was a great book and a nice movie for anyone who may feel different, whether it be body, size, looks, smarts or anything else.

Reflection

I am not going to sugar coat it. When you said we are starting a blog, I thought that meant I had to start getting Starbucks every morning and smoking Camels. When I think of blogging I picture writers with black rimmed glasses, sitting in Internet cafe's, typing away at their laptops in New York, and then I start to think "ughhhh". Yet this experience has changed me. Not in some" Oh my God the earth is ROUND!!!!" type change, rather in a minute sort of way that has opened me up to another wonderful attribute of technology in today's world. To be able to make these posts without having to grab a #2 pencil and a sheet of boring lined paper, gives me just a little more comfort in knowing that I will be able to type this stuff out and publish it instead of shoving it in my notebook and trying to not forget it before class. For future teaching reference, I do not know if I will be using this exact blog for show, but I do know that since it is soooo easy, I will be using a classroom blog of sorts. To be able to post activities that the class has done throughout the week and maybe homework that will be due. it will be so nice to pop in the blog update assignments for the week, maybe posts some picture's of what our class has been up to will really open the classroom up to the parents. So after careful deliberation I guess blogging isn't as bad as i thought it would be.

Time Train

Time Train, I feel , is like a toned down version of the Magic School bus. Almost like Polar Express meets A Night at The Museum. A class of grade schoolers take a trip on a train that mysteriously travels back in time. Along the way the train picks up historical figures such as Civil War soldiers and insects from the dinosaur age. It is a great book that does shine light upon the past, but in my opinion a little too bland. I'm still a sucker for the Magic School Bus.

Animals Born Alive and Well

This book is great for a teaching lesson to younger students about animals and their characteristics. It is definitely geared for younger readers, but older readers could use it to visualize what different animals look like. There is a wide variety of animals, some are well known and some not so much. It gives the name of each animal and then may put them in groups with other same type species. The visuals are OK, but this is definitely not a "bedtime story". It is more geared towards learning names and seeing different types of animals. I recommend this book for learning purposes, but the casual reader may enjoy it as well! Most definitely for the nature lover in all of us.

The Misfits

The Misfits in my opinion is a book version of "The Wonder Years" I can hear the guy's voice as I read this book. The narration is speaking to the reader and this is what gives me this feeling. After reading the first half of this book I get the feeling that this is a very cliche book. The stereotypes in this book are very standard. The fat kid, the sceezy dirty guy, the loud prominent girl and the gay kid. I just get the feeling that while reading this the author picked out the characters that were most stereotyped in junior high and overplayed them. after hearing about how controversial of a book this was, I was kind of disappointed. The only thing really controversial to me would by the Joe kid who was of a different sexual orientation and even then, what ks are watching on T.V. and the video games (Grand Theft Auto) kids are playing, who really cares that this kid is gay. I went to a Catholic school and for me it should be a huge culture shock with a gay kid in a book, but to tell the honest truth my parents raised me well enough to not even give a shit about someones orientation, skin color, nationality or anything else that could be different about them. And after these years of growing up and maturing I think it's more odd to meet someone who HAS a problem with difference then someone who doesn't.

Spoiler ALERT!!!

After reading the rest of the book....I am really glad the kids didn't win the election......wouldn't be the Misfits if they were winners.

Stellaluna

Stellaluna is an Abby award winner and is a lovely story about a fruit bat who is orphaned very young after an owl attacks their family. Stellaluna then finds herself in a bird's nest where sh is taken in as family and starts to act as if she was a bird as well.....sleeping at night and hanging by her hands, not upside down. Stella the comes upon some of her fellow bats who marvel at how different Stella is. This is a cute story that is accompanied by some beautiful pictures. In the end Stella brings together the birds and the bats. This can teach children to put differences aside.

There is a Bird on Your Head

There Is a Bird on You Head begins with a rather studious looking elephant sitting next to his friend a pig. All of a suddenly a bird lands on this head awaking him. He asks Piggie, “Is there is something on my head?” The pig nonchalantly responds that there is. This silly situation builds as two birds land and frighten the elephant. They fall in love, and build a nest on the elephant’s head. Soon they lay eggs which hatch. Before you know it the elephant had three chicks, two birds, and the nest on his head. He is at a loss as to what to do. Piggie tells Elephant to ask
them to leave which he does. He thanks Piggie for his advice. Piggie responds rather gloomily that his friend is welcome, as we see the birds have transferred over to Piggie‘s
head and the elephant smiles in relief.

Inch by Inch

Inch by Inch is a book about a clever inch worm who uses his brains to sneak away from a robin who had captured him. “Don’t eat me. I am an inch worm. I am useful. I measure things." With this valuable skill, the inch worm measures different birds. He measures the beak of the toucan and the legs of a huron. The robin wants him to measure his song and threatens to eat him if he will not. The inch worm realizes it is a matter of time before his usefulness runs out and he slowly but surely inches away to the safety of the deep grass. This could be a great book to introduce a lesson to younger students about measurement.

The Caverns of Time

"Do you go down the dark path.....turn to page 45" or "Do you turn back and head to the mansion......turn to page 76"

Many of us may recognize the similarty of the first sentence. They make us choose. Which brings me to what I remember as the ultimate "FUN" book when I was younger was the classic genre "Choose Your Own Adventure" or CYOA for short. These classic's really allowed for a more interactive style of reading, granted you would alway's save your last page with your pinkie in case of an errant misfortune on page 45 or 76, but that is what made these books enjoyable. I went to a Half Priced bookstore recently and was aware of the lack of CYOA books for sale. After asking the salesperson, I was shocked to be told that these books are actually still very popular and can be difficult to obtain. And why not, they are AWESOME. Hope this brought back a little bit of your excitement from when you used to turn the page.


Here is a link of choose your own adventure books that never made it to print (CAUTION: some of these were inappropriate and are very tastless!!)

Aliens For Breakfast

Aliens for breakfast is a pretty good sci-fi thriller for younger readers. Richard, an elementary school student eats his breakfast and discovers that an alien, Aric has found his way into his cereal. Aric needs help and enlists Richard as his comrade. The two must work together to foil Dorf, an evil alien from the planet Ganoob, who is masquerading as the popular kid in school's, evil plot. Of course this story is fun and entertaining, but it also allows kids to understand that people aren't always what they seem. As we follow Dorf, who is portrayed as the cool, popular, perfect student through his routine at school, we realize that he isn't what he portrays to be. There are a couple other stories in the series and are always fun to pick up and read.

In the Night KItchen

When you think of Maurice Sendak the first book that comes to mind would be Where The Wild Things Are, but Sendak wrote other great stories as well, one being In the Night Kitchen. You can instantly relate the illustrations to Where the Wild Things are and put it together that these are the same writers. This story follows a boy named Mickey's imagination on a night when sounds are coming from the kitchen downstairs. The oddness of the story makes you question the writer, but then again it i a fantastic and imagination filled tale which you can tell parallels the quirkiness of Where the Wild Things Are.

The Dot

Peter H. Reynolds lovely story about a young girl in art class whose frustration finally takes over and instead of giving up on her art creation she just slams down a dot on her paper. Her teacher has the utmost faith in the child, Vashti, and frames Vashti's dot. The next day when Vashti sees her artwork framed, she thinks, "I can make a better dot then that!" She then lets her imagination take over and creates many different dots in many different colors in many different ways. In the end her artwork hangs in a studio and a little boy is literally looking up to Vashti as an artists and wishes that "he can do that". Vashti then asks the boy to draw her a line, which he does, and she then frames it, paying it forward and planting the artist seed that was planted in her in him.

Mmmm.....Chocolate Moose for Dinner

If you remember the classic television show "The Munsters" then you know who Fred Gwyne is. Herman Munster wrote A Chocolate Moose for Dinner and did a fantastic job of taking us into the child's mind. The story literally takes what children may hear and puts it into to the child's imagery. A man "held up a bank" shows a man holding......well.... A BANK! The puns and picture make for a delightful story that takes me back to my youth when this was one of my favorite stories. It even delves into government issues, poking fun at the "arms race" and "gorilla war fare". The pictures are wonderfully thought out and very entertaining.

Ghost Town at Sundown

This story is part of a great series where Jack and Annie are sent on crazy adventures to help free their friend Morgan from a spell. This adventure caught my eye because i am a huge fan of spaghetti westerns. this children's tale isn't right on with that type of western theme, but the wild west definitely makes it's appearance. With names like rattlesnake Flats, Dusty, Slim and Shorty this adventure takes Annie and Jack through a ghost town in search of the answer to Morgans riddle. This series of books is great for an adventurous reader!! I remember playing cowboys and indians with my friends on the playground with fake guns and lassos. I had always thought it would have been so cool to carry around a gun and ride a horse. nowadays I am glad I have a clean bed and toothpaste, oh the children's imagination!!

The Wierd Thing's in Nanna's house

Did you ever get the feeling that when you went to Grandma and Grandpa (or as I called the m Nonnie and Papa) house that you were stepping back in time and seeing things that you had no idea of what they were or why someone would even have them? I would. I remember my Nonnie having tons of little trinkets and carvings of animals all around her house and wondering to myself "Where in the world did she get this?" This story brings me back to those days. From the elaborate toilet paper doll cover to the plastic fruit in bowls I can completely relate to The Wierd Things in Nanna's House. The one that really sticks out to me is the doll which covers toilet paper. i laugh to myself even today about it because now my mom, who is Nonnie to my niece and nephew's has one on the back of her toilet. it's not the exact same but it looks eerily similar.

What Time is it Mr. Crocodile?

This great children's story chronicles the day in the life of Mr. Croc. As the author Judy Sierra rhymes her way threw a wacky day (no rhyme intended) we follow Mr. Croc on a wacky adventure. this book takes me back to my childhood days, but not because mom or dad used to read it to me. It takes me back in time due to the name. At my school in Des Moines in P.E. class, we would play a game called "What time is it Mr Fox?" This game would consist of us kids screaming out "WHAT TIME IS IT MR. FOX!!!" The person who was it would then give us a time "2 o'clock!" We would then take 2 steps closer. As the tension mounted and we would get closer and closer to Mr Fox the nervousness would start to set in as we aited for the dreadful answer to our "What time is it Mr. Fox!!!!" question........"LUNCHTIME!!!!" the person who was it would then whirl around and chase us back to the other end of the gym, gobbling us up as he hurried across. If you were gobbled you became part of the Fox's pack. The good ole day's of being a kid!!

For Everyone to Share

For Everyone to Share is a wonderful story following a cute mouse as he explores the world outside his mousehole. The visuals in this book are very adorable. You are instantly drawn to the cuddly cuteness of Little Mouse. His curious intrigue drew me into the story and his honest questioning of the world can really relate to the curious exploration that children feel and experience. The authors Gillian Lobel and Daniel Howath did a great job of capturing the sights ad sounds that are nature.

Martha Blah Blah

Susan Meddaugh, the author of Martha Blah Blah, either on purpose or inadvertently satired the state of the United States economy. her story of a dog who eats Alphabet Soup, but instead of the letters going to his stomach they are redirected to his head, thus giving Martha the ability to speak actual words. As Martha creates buzz around her hometown by speaking and interacting with other animals she begins to generate love for other animals. As all this is going on Granny Flo, the CEO of the Alphabet soup company comes to the conclusion that less letters equals less expenses and more revenue. The irony of a little old grandma concerned with profit margin and a dog speaking with half letters mimics the economy of today. By crippling necessary letters (raising taxes, slashing health care and benefits) the dog (society and average Joe) are unable to stay in communication (competition) with the humans (higher society, upper class). As the dog begins to be unable to interact with his human family he becomes ashamed and almost gives up on his new found ability. The idea of a talking dog has been thought up in the past, but the greedy granny cutting letters to raise profits all the while the dog persevering on like an average Joe surprised me.

The Gulp's

After choosing The Gulp's I had the feeling that the story would involve a lot of food. As you can see with the front cover each Gulp is big and is stuffing their face with some form of junk food. The title page continues the trend almost mirroring today's society. An overweight family going on vacation bringing along nothing but snacks and frozen foods. By portraying the family as nothing short of slobbish and lazy, the author Rosemary Wells brings to children's attention the reality of obesity to adults, but most importantly to children. Today's society is filled with fast food advertisements and food that is quick and easy, video games and technology. What it is not filled with is fruits, vegetables, dinner at the family dinner table and children outside riding bikes and playing. The story goes on to show the Gulp's unable to do simple jobs due to their unhealthiness. I have seen it while working in schools, children texting each other, more likely to sit with a Nintendo DS rather then go outside and get a game of Kickball going. This unhealthy lifestyle has gone on to long and like The Gulp's, who in the end find vegetables, fruit, exercise and healthy habits, hopefully children today can be steered in the right direction.