Once I Ate a Pie

When I saw this book I immediately asked myself who this book would appeal too. I figured little boys love dogs and what better way to get boys interested in poetry other than poetry about dogs. And the picture on the front is pretty darn cute. I love that this book has different fonts and sizes for different words making emphasis on certain things. I also love all the names for the dogs in this book. Every poem in this book captures the true identity of each dog. The illustrations all capture it as well. The are beautiful pictures. I love the puppy picture where it looks like the paw prints are smeared all over the page. But I have to say my favorite poem in the book is "Mr. Beef" because I think it is hilarious that at the end is says, "Once I ate a PIE".

Orangutan Tongs

What child doesn't enjoy a good tongue twister. Well this book is full of them and even I enjoy them. I like the fact that these are not really well-known tongue twisters. This makes the book interesting because you really have to think to get the rhyme correct. The tongue twisters are about a lot of random things. My favorite one is about the undies. I think children would love the fact that the book talks about undies. This book is probably closest to what I used to think of as poems, rhyming.
The only thing I didn't really like about this book compared to some of the other poem picture books I have read is that it really doesn't tell a story. Also the illustrations aren't my favorite. The are a little plain and appear a little sloppy.

Shoe Magic

What another wonderful book by Nikki Grimes. This collection of poems is about children trying on different shoes which makes them imagine they are different things. I love the idea of this because all children have imaginations that just don't stop. I think that shoes is a great way to get those different directions to their thinking. In their shoes they can be anything they want or go anywhere they want. My favorite poem in this book is the one titled "Here Come the Clowns". This is a cute poem that vividly describes a clown.
The illustrations in this book are also very good. I love the fact that the shoes are emphasized so much. In every picture the feet are abnormally big, drawing your attention to them even more. The people look almost like cartoon characters because of the disproportional body parts.

Looking for Jaguar

I have to start off by talking about the pictures in this book. They are absolutely gorgeous. The paintings are so life-like. The main color used in this book is green, depicting the jungle. But somehow the other colors that are used are so vibrant against the different shades of green. The animals and flowers and plants are so real looking.
The book is a collection of poems about animals and plants in the jungle. The are very clever and informative. My favorite is the "Rainbow Lorikeets" poem. There is so much movement and sound in the poem. The poem is about birds and their lifestyle. It is amazing that information about what they eat and how they live can but put into such a short poem.
The last thing I liked about this book was in then back, there is information about each animal and plant written about in the poems. There is also a write up about the rain forest in general. I think this was a great idea. Not only is it very informative for the reader but the poems are enjoyable as well as the illustrations.

Danitra Brown Leaves Town

What a lovely story of two best friends. The summer has begun and they will be split. Danitra leaves to visit her family. The book is about their summer without each other. The two girls write letters back and forth about their summer adventures. They are in the format of poems in the book. I think this makes the book so much more interesting. My favorite poem is the last one titled "Home Again". This is when the two girls are reunited. It is a short and simple poem but expresses so much. I feel like it was a very good poem to conclude their summer apart. The illustration on this page also makes the poem better. It is the two girls embracing.
The illustrations overall are very good. I am not sure how they were done but they add so much to the poems which leave a lot of room for imagination. I also love the fact that this book is a different race other than Caucasian.

Love That Dog

I never thought that I was a fan of poetry. But this book opened my eyes to a new way of reading and appreciating poetry. This was a quick read but had so much power. I could completely relate to the character in this book. I had all the same questions and concerns about poetry. I feel like the child really developed throughout the book along with his poetry. I feel that the way the teacher responded to his poetry, by putting it up on the wall and suggesting he send it to the author, was very encouraging to the boy. I think that the way the poems he wrote related back to poems that were taught in class, which were actually someone else's poems, was a great idea. I loved that the poems were in the back of the book for me to refer back to because I am not familiar with poetry. I don't think that it is likely that the author would show up to the classroom like what happened in the book. But I really enjoyed that part of the story and thought that it added a lot to the plot. I also think that the activity we did in class, reading the poems aloud with different voicing, made the poems come alive. I went back to the book after that class and reread some of the book. I got a lot more out of the story the second time when I read it slowly and added some other emphasis. Great book! I would definitely use this to help introduce or explain poetry to any younger child.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

This book was a great companion of the book 'So Far From the Bamboo Grove'. I think that the two books show the two sides of the war perfectly. I have gotten the feeling that there is no enemy in these books, only victims and survivors. I enjoyed the courage of the character in this book. I felt that she was a believable example of what a young girl in this time period would be like. I think that the story line was probably more believable than the story line of 'So Far From the Bamboo Grove'. But I think that I enjoyed 'So Far From the Bamboo Grove' better. I feel like it gave me more excitement and overall emotions than this book. I do not want to take anything away from this book though. It was also very good. I loved the end of this book when the two children were struggling to get past the fence. I feel like this one scene depicted their entire struggle throughout the entire book. They were working so hard to get to that one point to set themselves free. I was really disappointed to find out that Aunt Tiger and Kisa were killed because of their activity in trying to save the people. But I guess that is what actually happened during this time. Overall I liked this book and I feel like the way the two books were presented and read in the text set format was a great idea. It added to the feeling of the books.

So Far From the Bamboo Grove

I have to say that this is one of the saddest books I have ever read. This is a story of a little girl named Yoko and her Japanese family's journey to leave Korea to be safe. There are certain parts of this story that stick in my mind. The first is being told that you have to leave your home right now. I don't even know what I would pack because you have to carry it all. I cannot imagine leaving my brother either. Not only did they have to leave but they were put on a hospital train with wounded people. Those would be the most undesirable conditions of all. The other thing that sticks out in my mind is when they need to shave their heads, tape down their breast, and wear dead soldiers' clothing to save themselves from being raped or killed. These girls and their mother had a difficult journey to get to Japan including no food or having to dig in garbage to have something to eat. The last thing that put me over the edge was when Yoko's mother died in her arms. I cannot even imagine how I would handle myself in that situation.
The book wasn't a complete sob story though. In the end the Yoko and her sister, Ko, find some nice people who allow them to live on their property, they go to school, and have different jobs to help them make money. They are surviving. In the end their brother returns to them. This was a very happy ending but I wished that it could have ended with her father returning as well.
This book is not only informational and historical but it is also entertaining and perplexing. I couldn't put it down. I think it would be a great way to introduce history to children as well just like we are doing in class. It is a big contrast to give them one side of the story and then the opposing side of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested but would recommend that they brush up on the situation between the Japanese and Koreans before starting the book.
One last thing is that I love how the title is so fitting because they are far from their original home located in the bamboo grove, so far away from normal and safety.

No dessert forever!

I absolute adore this book! This book begins with no text. A little girl is playing with her doll and her little brother sneaks up on her and scares her. She accidentally knocks over a lamp and her mother comes in from the other room to scold her. She gets upset because it is not her fault and she is the one to get into trouble. This is an all to common and familiar situation. So the story goes on to show that the little girl starts to treat her doll like her child and scolds her just like her mother has scolded her before. I really like that the text is in voice bubbles too. As the story continues the doll gets smaller and the little girl gets bigger. The one picture that is also used for the cover is the little girl yelling so loud at the doll that all the toys are blowing away. Then the mother sees the little brother coming back to scare the girl again but the mother catches him this time. Now the mother scolds the little boy and the little girl becomes happy. She tells her doll that she will never get mad at her again. The closing page is the little girl hold her mother's hand walking out of the living room. I absolute think this story is great. The illustrations are water-painted and they make the story. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book to read. The overall idea of the book is great and I enjoyed this book a lot.

Salt in His Shoes

Everyone knows who Michael Jordan is. Well this is a story of his childhood told by his mother and sister. Michael loved playing basketball with his older brothers and their friends but he was a lot shorter than them. This bothered him and he asked his mother how he could grow taller. She didn't know how to answer this but was cooking dinner so replied by telling him to put salt in his shoes and pray. Michael's father also had a conversation with him to tell him that he needed practice and determination and being taller would only help a little bit. The story continues to talk about his success on the courts in a park and how that determination lead him to the success he has had. I think that any young boy who is aware of Michael Jordan or not can use this story to inspire them. This is a good story to help teach children that if you put your mind to it and if you want it bad enough, you can achieve it.
The illustrations look like they could be right out of a cartoon. But my favorite is that on the first page it is young Michael going up with the ball in his famous pose and the last page is older Michael in the same pose. I think this is a great book and that many children could learn a lot from this success story.

Pastry School in Paris

So this book is about twins who go to Paris and attend a baking school. I wasn't too impressed with the story. The twins in the story end up saving this woman by making their famous brownies. I was bored with the book and the illustrations. The only thing I thought was good about the book was that it was teaching children measurements. At the end there was even a note to parents and teacher to give them ideas about teaching measurements. Other than that I was not impressed.

Luther's Halloween

Luther is a triceratops and this is his first Halloween. His friend dresses up like a werewolf and he dresses Luther up as a pirate. They go out trick-or-treating and Luther gets scared of some of the costumes. But when one boy, who is dressed as Dracula, starts stealing people's candy, Luther gets brave. Luther scares the Dracula to get back everyone's candy. I think this story is cute for a young child just learning the concept of Halloween. I like the fact that Luther is a dinosaur but yet he is dressing up for Halloween with human children. I think children will really like the simple lessen behind this book.
The pictures are as pretty good. They are bright and have simple but yet good quality about them. I think it is difficult to illustrate children in costumes but this is done very tastefully.

Peter's Pockets

This book would be a good story for a new reader. The text is simple and the story doesn't require any additional thinking outside what is stated in the text. The story is about a boy who gets a new pair of pants but the pants don't have any pockets. So on his journey with his uncle, he has to put all his new treasures that he has found in his uncle's pockets. When they get home, the mother sews on pockets from random things around the house. Now the boy has enough pockets to put all his treasures in.
The pictures are also simple. They are all in a box and are done in colored pencil. Definitely a bit dull. This is probably not a book I would read to a child or read again for that matter.

School Picture Day

First off I want to say that the name Josephina Caroleena Wattasheena the First is comical. This story is a cute little tale about a very curious girl. She fidgets with mechanical stuff to figure out how things work. But everything she messes with ends up making a mess out of her classmates. Today happens to be school picture day and Josephina has ruined everyone's picture outfits by getting oil on them, water on them, and many other things. But when the photographer's camera breaks the only one who can fix it is Josephina. The words that are used are fun and I think that children would like to hear them.
The illustrations in this book are pretty good. They are all over the place and I like that. They are just one scene landscape type pictures. There are small little pictures all over the pages showing different people in different situations. I think that makes it interesting and that it would grab the attention of the children reading the book.

The Night Eater

What a great bedtime story! I think this book is adorable and would be a great story to read to any child right before bedtime. This book tells the story of the 'night eater' who follows the moon eating away the night sky so that the sun can come out. After a comment made by the moon about night eater gaining weight, he decides not to eat anymore. This causes problems for everyone. People start seeing nocturnal animals and plants start dying. Night has lasted so long that night eater has forgotten why he has stopped eating the night sky. So he begins eating again and everything returns to normal.
The idea of this is so abstract and the illustrations depict that perfectly. I love the fact that the night eater is wearing a night cap and pajamas. The illustrations are gorgeous though and the colors are so vibrant. I love how the pictures distinguish night and day by using warm and cool colors. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

Dancing Larry

So this is not my favorite book. Apparently this is a part of a series of stories about this bear named Larry. In this book Larry wants to dance at ballet class but the teacher says that nears are not allowed. So he makes his own dance production. I am not a fan of this book. This could be because I haven't read any other books in the series but I feel like this is a boring and somewhat confusing book. Children may enjoy the book but I feel like the names are hard to pronounce and it is hard to follow the plot line. There is also no climax either.
The pictures are just ehhh too. I am not impressed but I am not disgusted either. I will think twice though next time I see a book about a polar bear named Larry. Not my style.

Snake Alley Band

This book is clever. It is about a snake who is in a snake band. I thought this was creative because of the noises that animals make is now being considered a band. Anyways the little snake believes that the snake band is getting a little monotonous and suggests to the snake bandleader that they should recruit different animals to help the band out. The bandleader gets mad and kicks the little snake out of the band. So the little snake makes his own band with other animals. I think this book would be fun to read to a child because of the fun sounds the animals make. It makes the story more interesting. I think that any young child would like to listen to this story.
I think the illustrations were a little boring. They were colorful but I thought they seemed a little sloppy. Overall it is a good book and would probably only recommend this book for reading to children or to be read aloud.

The Magic Rabbit

I absolutely LOVED this book!! The story is about a boy magician and his assistant who is a rabbit. The boy is performing his magic on the sidewalk when someone bumps into him and the rabbit gets lost. The book goes on to show the rabbit looking for the magician and the magician looking for the rabbit.
My favorite part of the book though was the illustrations. They are all in black and white except for the 'magic'. The star on the magician's wand is yellow and all of his magic is in yellow. As the magician is looking for his rabbit some of the yellow stars are falling from his wand which is how the rabbit ends up finding the magician. I love the theme of the yellow which follows into the end pages and also the title on the cover of the book.
I feel like any child would love this book for the fact that most kids are fascinated with magic and the illustrations a good enough to keep an adult entertained. I would suggest this book to anyone looking for a picture book!

My Author

The author I chose was Tom Birdseye. I really wanted to pick an author that I wasn't really familiar with. I looked at his website, http://www.tombirdseye.com/, and decided that he looked very interesting. I love the fact that he talks about how he never liked school and was a horrible writer and speller. Now he is an accomplished writer who travels to tell his story and to give writing tips. I thought his website was very informative and well laid out. I like the fact that you can read about each one of his books including his inspiration, awards the book has won, and a passage straight out of the book. I feel like Birdseye is a very interesting person who enjoys the outdoors and writes his books more toward the male population. I think this is great because boys are usually more difficult to get into reading.

I read his novel "Tarantula Shoes". This book was a typical book for any child, geared more towards boys. The boy in the book moved to a new town and is going to begin junior high. This in itself is scary enough but now he has to be at an entirely new school. The story is about him wanting a specific pair of shoes. He believes that these shoes will help him be cool at his new school. I think all children can relate to this situation in one way or another. Trying to fit in and be 'normal' seems to be the goal of the majority of children. I think that Birdseye captured real emotions for his readers in this book.

I also read his "Soap! Soap! Don't Forget the Soap!" book. This was an adorable book about a boy who is forgetful. I feel like children will find this book humorous and it enjoy it. I did of course. The poor boy gets himself into some trouble because he cannot remember what his mother sent him to the store for. The story plays out nicely and he remembers why he is there. I think children of all ages will appreciate the quirky nature of this book. The illustrations are also quirky. They provide a great image for the reader to supplement the story.

Another book I looked at was 'Under Our Skin'. This is a nonfiction book about different children and their stories. This book is very interesting and sheds good light on different races. I think that it is a very informational book and a good way to address the topic of race with children. For enjoyment purposes, maybe not so much. The book does have great photos though. I think that this topic is a good one to address and that this is a good way to do it.

The last thing I wanted to mention about Tom Birdseye was that I enjoyed reading this interview with him, http://writingforchildren.suite101.com/article.cfm/an_interview_with_childrens_author_tom_birdseye

The Class So Far.....

So far this class has been a great experience. I wasn't sure what I expected from the class being a Speech and Hearing major. Up to this point though, I have nothing but good to say about the class. I really like the format of the class. I enjoy actually reading children's literature instead of reading about children's literature. I think it is a great way to learn. I also feel like blogging about it has really developed my thought process as I am reading the material.
I think that the genre project was also a great learning experience for me. Not only did I learn some great things about my genre but it was good to see everyone's handouts and presentations.
I guess the only thing that has been a little be difficult for me is relating what we are learning to actual classroom environment because that is not what I am studying. I feel like that doesn't come as natural to me as it does to the others in the class.

Anticipation Guide: So Far From The Bamboo Grove

If you were forced from your home, and could only take with you things that you
could carry on your back, what would you take?

"What a beautiful costume you are wearing."

How far would you go to survive?

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

How would you feel if the one stable, strong thing in your life was taken away suddenly?

"Bu Un Cho Kyu" (Good Luck in War)

Autumn O

Emily A

Sarah T