Out of Sight: Pictures of Hidden Worlds

By: Seymour Simon

What struck me immediately about this book was the illustrations. They are so vivid and make you want to read on. This is a nonfiction books about things that you can see under a microscope. I am much more of a fiction reader myself, but I have been finding the importance of exploring other genres. This book definitely begs you to explore, and would be great for individual reading or reading workshops. It is definitely more on the challenging side for individual reading, especially for younger readers, however, it is aimed at an audience with an interest in science, so motivation would probably be high and I could see this being a good challenge. Also, just looking at the pictures and discussing them, without reading the text would still be beneficial!  I would keep this in mind to recommend to a child with an interest in science, or as a read aloud. 

 

 

Pass it on: African American Poetry for Children

Selected by Wade Hudson

This is a book with a selection of poetry. I enjoyed reading this a lot. As I said before, I have always been stuck in narrative fiction, so I am just starting to venture out into other genres, and I am seeing all of the possibilities, especially with a genre like poetry. There are just so many ways that poetry can be used in the classroom, the one that comes most readily to my mind is the discussion of mental images. Also, this could be integrated into different units, for example, social studies, as Langston Hughes is one of the poets featured here. Also, in my classroom I really want diversity and a wide range of people to be represented in the literature that I chose, and this book accomplishes that. The poets are African American and this group is clearly represented through the illustrations – However, most of the poems themselves are about everyday life, which I enjoy and appreciate! The illustrations are beautiful and catch your attention. 

Secret places

Poems selected by Charlotte Huck

This book is a selection of poems in which the poets describe their love for a secret place: some are imaginary and some are real. I loved this book because there are so many places to go with it! It is such a great spark for conversation and writing, pictures and projects. Although all of these poems deal with the same topic, they vary widely and I could see many students relating and identifying to the book as a whole for this reason. Some are imaginative, some are serious, some are fun. This would also be a great book to talk about text-to-text connections. Again, the illustrations were wonderful and serve to represent diversity, as many different groups of people are represented.   

 

This Place is Wet

By: Vicki Cobb

 I do not feel particularly strongly one way or another about this book. Although I didn’t necessarily care for it, I could see a child getting a lot out of it. I found it hard to read because there was a lot of text on the page, and also I am not a big reader of nonfiction. It is not my type of book, but that is not to say that there isn’t a child out there who would really love it. It is challenging, informative, and uses a lot of good imagery. I do not think I would use this to read aloud, however it would be good for reading workshops. It could also connect great to social studies units because it is about living in the rain forest and the people there. 

The Jumping tree

By: René Saladaña, JR.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot and I see a lot of good uses for it in the classroom. I like the way that it addresses issues and perspectives that are not typically promoted in the classroom like poverty. Poverty is definitely a force in this book, but I like the way that it is not the main focus, and is just a part of life. It takes a taboo issue and normalizes it; from talking about free lunch at school to the fact that the family did not have air conditioning because they couldn’t afford it. I think it is important for a child to feel their life is validated in the eyes of the school – and this book can definitely provide such validation. It uses a lot of Spanish vocabulary in a very natural way. It definitely has a specific audience in mind, however, Spanish is still integrated in such a way that a non-Spanish speaker could still understand what was going on and get something out of it as well. A lot of other important issues for discussion are brought up. A common idea was “what does it mean to stand up for yourself?” Also there is room for discussion on bullying and gender roles. Racism was also a present force with much room for discussion. It is authentic and insightful, with a lot of good imagery. I think both teachers and students could learn a great deal and gain some insight.

 

Daddy's Wedding

By Michael Willhoite

I was very happy to find this book on the shelf of the curriculum lab, because I love books that deal with controversial issues and topics that do not normally appear in elementary school classrooms. In terms of the content of the book, I think it had its issues because I think it really oversimplified a very emotion filled idea, but I still liked it because I like to see this issue actually being discussed in the context of children’s literature. I did like, however, how such a taboo topic was normalized and placed in an everyday setting.  I liked that the author made a conscious effort to make the main character just like any other boy his age, by talking about how he liked to play baseball, go to camp, etc. There was an honest effort to normalize. I was surprised when reading about the author on the inside of the book that it was written in the 90s. It talked inside the book about how when this was published it was so controversial and appeared on nightline. 

Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail

By: Laurence Anholt

This was a very enjoyable read and engaged me from the start. It is based on a true story, however it maintained it’s imagination and creativity through the illustrations and the telling. This book would be good for children who have specific interests in art, however, it is not just a book about art, as it addresses some important issues and challenges the “normal” family as portrayed so typically in children’s literature (the main character’s father had left them and she talks about living with her mom and her mom’s boyfriend). I like books that think more outside the box in terms of what life looks like, without making these differences the focus or even the purpose of the story. There were important themes such as loneliness, friendship, and secrets, that I could see opening up great discussions in the classroom. 

The Three bears and Goldilocks

By: Margaret Willey

There is not a whole lot to say about this well known tale that has been retold in one hundred different ways. I liked this version a lot because of the illustrations, and also the humor and the fun and interesting vocabulary. It was also told from Goldilocks’ perspective, so a good class activity would be to compare this version with another. 

Me Too! Two small stories about small animals

Retold by Katya Arnold – based on stories by V. Suteev

This was a fun read. There was not a lot to it but I could really see a child enjoying this. I liked how the text was arranged in creative ways that allowed it to interact with the story. 

Our Puppies are Growing!

 By: Carolyn Otto

 I liked this book and it was very informational while still telling a story. It is very good for children with an interest in puppies or animals. I read this with my child study kid because she really likes dogs and puppies, and it was a big success. It was a good book to read one on one and brought out a lot of discussion and conversation. I could see this book as being good for the whole class because it could fit in with other units and other topics. 

 

Delilah D at the Library

By: Jeanne Wills

 I loved this book! It was very funny and I could see kids really enjoying it. It was very creative and would provoke a lot of discussion. The narrator, who is the main character in the story, has a very distinct voice that comes through clearly. This book was full of imagination and very visually appealing. There was a lot to look at but it was not distracting. The text was arranged in fun ways and the overall experience of reading this book was very interactive and engaging. 

 

Wonder Bear

By: Tau Nyeu

 This book was wonderful! I am new to the genre of wordless novels, and I am amazed at how such a great story could be told through only illustrations. The illustrations were beautiful and so visually stimulating. I loved the images and the imagination involved. Even though it was told using illustrations, it still left room for the reader to make their own mental images. There was so much to look at and so much to be said. I think this genre in general can be very valuable, and I will definitely keep that in mind, with this book being at the top of my list. 

I know the Moon

By: Stephen Axel Anderson

I really enjoyed reading this book. The illustrations were beautiful and added the experience of the story. It was incredibly creative and imaginative. It dealt with a lot if good ideas about looking at things a different way, and the difference between seeing what is literally there, and interpreting and imaging. I could see this being a really enjoyable and beneficial book to have in the classroom.

I wish I had a Big Tree

By Satoru Sato

 I loved this book as well. It had so much great imagery through the illustrations and through the words. It uses so much imagination. I read this through a few times, and got something new out of it each time. It incorporates diversity in a non-obvious way: the main character is named Kaoru and is not the stereotypical white child that is portrayed in a majority of children’s books. The illustrations are fantastic. There are a lot of activities and uses that I could see coming out of this book.