The Giver by Lois Lowry

After reading this book for the second time I found it interesting that I had read this book in 5th grade. The book seems like it would be hard for children to read at that age and I wasn't sure if I remembered much from reading it the first time. The book is great to be read if the children are ready for this level of a book though. There are a lot of traditions and committees to keep track of while reading the book. The book is very interesting to think about. The fact that these people do not have feelings is interesting. It would be nice to go through your life without having to feel sadness or anger, but it would be such a shame to go through your life not being able to feel love and happiness! I love to think about membories of my past so I would not like to live in this community that is set up so strictly!

Goodnight Max By: Rosemary Wells

This was a great book to be read to children at bed time. It is a cardboard book which is great for little kids to turn the pages. The illistrations on the pages were great for keeping the interest of young children throughout the book. On several of the pages there was something that came off of the page that could be felt or moved by the reader such as the blanket on Max for example. One thing that I didn't like about the book was the amount of text on the pages. Many times cardboard books are great for very young readers, but this book seems like it would be difficult for some young readers.

Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by: Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

This book was great for teaching a lesson on seeds and how plants grow. There are several pages that show the seeds that the little boy recieved in his package from his grandpa. The seeds are from many different plants and vegetables. It is interesting to look at the difference in the appearance of the seeds. I liked the illistrations in this book. The illistrations look like they are construction paper cut out into the characters in the book which is interesting. I also like the page where the illistrator showed how the plant's roots grew throughout the season and eventually into a plant. The book also gives ideas for how to use the seeds from the plants in arts and crafts.

I Miss You Every Day By: Simms Taback

The first thing I liked about this book was the envelope on the first page that has a picture inside. The picture can be taken out of the envelope to look at which is interesting for the reader. I liked the fact that this book never tells you who the little girl is missing so that the reader can interpret the story however they want. This book would be a great discussion starter for children to talk about people they miss every day and what they do when they miss them. The illistrations are great in this book. I liked the cover of this book. The title of the book is in bubble letters that are all different colors and it drew my attention right away.

What's Wrong with Timmy? By: Maria Shriver

I chose to read this book because I have read her book What's Heaven? My mom had bought the book after my grandmother died and her books were very helpful in explaining the concept of death. This particular book is great for teaching children about mental disorders in children. It is a great book for parents or teachers to read with children to bring up questions and discussion about the disorder. Many children are not comfortable talking about such topics but may wonder in their minds what is wrong with people who have these disorders and it is important to answer this questions. The illistrations by Sandra Spiedel are excellent. They are paintings and bring the story to life. The story was very sad, but I would recommend it to anyone who is trying to have a discussion about disorders.

Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup By: Cynthia Rylant

I really liked how this book was divided into chapters. Many children feel like when they progress in their reading they need to read chapter books which seem harder. This book was simple and short like many picture books but may seem like more of a challenge for readers. I also thought the story was very funny. It kept my interest. There are many other books by this author for children to read if they enjoy this particular book. I also liked the illistrations by Arthur Howard. They were helpful to show children what was going on in the story on each of the pages.

Breaking Up By Aimee Friedman

This book is a great book for older kids who are entering middle school and junior high. It kept my interest throughout and I could see it being great for some girls who do not like to read books that are traditional novels. This graphic novel could relate to the lives of many students as they grow from being in elementary school and move into middle and high school. There were some parts that may be a little risque for children in elementary school so I don't think that I would recommend the book for younger children. The book is recommended for kids aged 15 and up. I think that would be a good age for the book. The pictures in the book are great, and dialogue goes well with the images. The black and white images make the images sharp and detailed.

Melissa Parkington's Beautiful, Beautiful Hair By Pat Brisson

This book also taught a good lesson to me as a reader and I think it could teach a good lesson to many children who read it. The book is about a girl who only gets compliments on her hair, and it bothers her because she wants to be complimented on something she is good at or does instead of something physical. Melissa tries many new things to be talented at but has a hard time finding something that she really enjoys. By the end of the book she has decided to be the nicest person in the world. As she gets complimented on being nice throughout the book she decides to donate her hair to someone who is unable to grow hair on their own. I liked this book because I have donated my hair to these organizations before to help children with cancer.

Angelina's Island By Jeanette Winter

This book also had very unique illistrations. The characters are portrayed as black characters with detailed decorations in their hair and on their heads. The jewelry on the characters were also accented on the pages. This book was a good comparison of New York City and Jamaica as a little girl wishes that she could go back to her home island of Jamaica. The information about Jamaica and New York are very informational for students who are unfamiliar with either of these areas. The ending was somewhat confusing and children may have to re-read the book to understand what was going on. The characters are in a parade or festival celebrating Jamaica in the end, but if you only read the text you would have assumed that she was back in Jamaica. This is a great book for comparing the illistrations with the text, and how either of them can change the meaning of the story without the other.

Jamaica and the Substitute Teacher By Juanita Havill

I originally chose this book to use with my child study student because she loves the country Jamaica. When I read this book I found out that this girls name was Jamaica. This was interesting to me because that is not a common name in the United States. This showed great diversity that could be used in teaching students. I loved the illistrations in this book. The paintings looked so realistic that I almost thought some of the illistrations were photographs. I found it sad how excited the students were that they were going to have a substitute teacher. I hope that my class doesn't get excited when I'm gone from class someday! This book taught a great lesson by the end. The little girl Jamaica cheats on her spelling test because she wants to make the substitute teacher proud of her, but she feels guilty about getting a perfect score that she doesn't turn her test in. In the end she admits to what she had done and the substitute teachers says that she was very proud of her for being honest and that she would have been proud of her if she would have missed only one in the first place!

Arthur's Family Vacation By Marc Brown

This is one of my favorite series from when I was in elementary school. The storyline and the characters are interesting to many children. The family of Arthur is similar to many families where there are children who fight with each other about everything. I love the illistrations in these books. There is also realistic dialogue among the characters in these books. In this book the father reminds the children to use the bathroom before they leave on their trip. This reminded me of all the vacations I took as a child when my parents would remind me of these same things. One thing I didn't think would be good for young readers was that there is a lot of text on some of the pages. The big paragraphs may be uninviting to readers who are trying to move up in the level of books.

Belinda Begins Ballet By Amy Young

This book caught my attention sitting on the shelf because of the attractive dust jacket. The jacket is pink and has sparkles in the text of the title. The book was funny as the young girl trys out to be a clown for the talent show. After she decides she would rather be a dancer we see her practicing after school everyday. The illistrations throughout the book are amazing. There was one page that was showing a girl dancing on a stage in the auditorium and the lights that are on her make the page stand out! As I was reading I was hoping that the young girl would change her mind and do a ballet routine in the talent show instead of the clown act and in the end she does do this. The ending taught a good lesson about following your goals and interests!

Say Goodnight, Gracie by Julie Reece Deaver

This was a great book that realted to me personally. The book has many great lessons that can be learned for young readers, but also lessons that can be carried throughout one's life. Many readers can relate to the relationship of Jimmy and Gracie. Their mothers were friends in high school and stayed friends through pregnancy. The two kids grow up together until Jimmy is killed by a drunk driver.
This is a good lesson for children to learn at a young age. Neither of these two ever thought this could happen. It is good for children to see how fast things can happen if they aren't smart!
This was a fast read and I can see how it would keep the attention of young readers.

The Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston

This was a great book to teach children about the journey to the moon. It shows that this was a huge accomplishment for mankind and how it affected the lives of everyone. I liked how the author decided to repeat the year almost every other page so that the date would be locked in the reader's mind after finishing the book.
I liked how the book showed both sides of the opinions of the American people. The granddaughter was so excited about landing on the moon, while her grandfather thought that it was a waste of time. He didn't think that we should spend the money on this. It shows how there are differing opinions even in the homes of members of the same family.
The illistrations were very detailed and helped the text show what was going on in the story.

Gold Fever by Verla Kay

This was an excellent book to teach children about the gold rush in a fun way. The story is told through rhymes in the form of a poem. The illistrations made the text come alive! There were detailed illistrations of all the things the men seeking gold were doing and seeing throughout their journey. By looking at the illistrations the reader can learn so much more about the time period and the experience of the gold rush without even reading the text! I really liked how there was never any white on any of the pages. Even the extra space on each page had a "antique" look making the book look old.

Somewhere in Africa by Ingrid Mennen and Niki Daly

This was a great book to teach young children and even older readers, such as myself, about Africa. The book goes through all the generalizations of what Africa is like. The illistrations and text show the "Safari" aspect of Africa, but the young boy as a narrator shows that he has never even seen this part of Africa and he lives there. He shows that he lives in a developed city where there are many similarities with other developed countries around the world.
I liked the illistrations especially on the dust jacket of the book. It is a picture of the city where the boy lives.
One part of the story I didn't like was the text. There was never anything unique with the text which made it a little boring by the end of the book. The text was all the same font, and black in color throughout.

Bach's Big Adventure by Sallie Ketcham

I liked how this book began with an introduction of who Johann Sebastian Bach was. It gave the background knowledge of his life and what accomplishments he had. It is a long paragraph for some children to read, but if a teacher wanted to use this book as a read aloud in the classroom it would be a great introduction to get the children thinking about the book.
I loved how the text was creatively placed throughout the pages. Some pages had boarders around the text while some of the pages had bigger or different fonts.
I also really liked the illustrations throughout the book. Some pages had full page illustrations while other pages had illustrations around the text. My favorite page was the one with the illustration of the map of Europe. It gives the children a good sense of the setting of the story.
The story also has a good ending. Bach eventually finds that he is not the best organist in the world, but he accepts this and decides if he is patient someday he may be.

Boom Town by Sonia Levitin

This was a good informational book to teach children about the Gold Rush. It may be a hard concept for young children to understand that the West coast wasn't developed at the same time that the rest of the United States was developed and this book does a good job of relaying that message to readers. I like the illistrations that went along with the book and also the historical note at the end of the book. The book goes through the stages of how each part of the community came to be in the town and how each part plays a huge part in making a community run smoothly.
One thing I didn't like about this book was the text on each of the pages. There was a lot of text and it may have been overwhelming for the five to nine year olds that are recommended to read this book. Other than having a lot of words on each page I think that the age level recommended for this book would be perfect.

The Girl Who Danced with Dolphins By Frank DeSaix

I found this book very peculier. When the grandfather and the granddaughter are out on the ocean he lets her get into the water and swim around. Maybe it is the lifeguard in me talking, but by looking at the pictures the water looks deep and he is letting her go off by herself. Also when the shark comes along I didn't think that the grandfather was very worried about her safety. The book is recommended for children ages 5-8 but there were some difficult words for children that young.
I liked how Adrianne's dream was full of images. It was very detailed and as a reader we could see what she was dreaming about. The illistrations were very detailed as well and went along well with the text.

Heckedy Peg By Audrey Wood

Audrey Wood has always been one of my favorite authors, and the illistrations done by Don Wood have also been a favorite of mine. This book teaches children a great lesson of listening to what you are told by your parents. The children are told not to open the door for anyone and not to touch fire, but when the witch bribes them with gold they immediately forget what their mother had told them. The children are all named after the days of the week which I found odd. My favorite part of the story was the end when the mother pretends to cut off her feet. I can see young children thinking this was really funny because they know the truth about her feet when the mother is tricking the witch.
I liked how the story came together in the end when the mother named each of her children by what they had asked for from the market. The food that each child had been turned into matched perfectly with what they had asked for.

Jessica By Kevin Henkes

I thought the book Jessica was very creative although there were some things I did not like about the book. I liked the illustrations and the side quotations from Ruthie on each page. I liked how the advice Ruthie would give to Jessica would be common phrases you would hear a parent telling their children. Jessica was sort of like a little sister figure to Ruthie since she didn’t have any siblings. I also liked how when there was something wrong or spilled around the house, Ruthie would blame Jessica but right away mention that Jessica was sorry for doing it.

One thing I didn’t like about the book was that her parents would tell her that her imaginary friend wasn’t real. I think that it is good for kids to have imaginary friends when they are growing up especially in this book since she didn’t have any pets or siblings. They could have suggested that she make other friends when she went to school, but I didn’t like how they told her that Jessica wasn’t real.

What a Family! By Rachel Isadora

I thought this book was an excellent book to use while talking about family trees or a child’s heritage. The similarities that the children found among the family members in their family were impressive. I liked how the similarities went through so many generations and in the end even linked to the family dog. The illustrations in the book were also beautiful. The details made the pages come alive, and made the descriptions of each family member stand out on each page. It would be neat to use this book to create family trees or even drawings of similarities among family members in the each child’s family.

Can You Dance, Dalila? By Virginia Kroll

I really enjoyed this book. The illistrations were great and went along with the text really well. I liked how the girl, Dalila, didn't give up here curiosity and love for dancing as she went through all the types that she saw. She kept trying new types of dance until she finally found the one that she enjoyed and was good at in the end. She was very creative when she would try the new types of dances that she was introduced to. After the Irish dance she went home and put on a green dress to try to do the "jig." Another example was when she went home after the country dance and put on her snow boots to do the line dance. Another thing I liked about this book was the imagery used through similes and metaphors throughout the book.

Little House on the Prarie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prarie books are great for teaching children about the United States before it was discovered and developed. This is the second book of the series and it is a great book to either read aloud in the classroom or for children to read on their own. There are also some great lessons to learn throughout the book as the Wilder family befriend the indians and also work together as a family to get through hard times. The pictures in the book help to paint a picture of the setting throughout the story.

Runaway Ralph By Beverly Cleary

I thought that this book was good for upper elementary aged children. Overall I really enjoyed the book. It moved quickly which would help keep a child's attention as they are reading. After Ralph runs away because his brothers are trying to steal his motorcycle I thought that it could relate to several children. After he runs away to Happy Acres Camp he decides that home wasn't that bad, but is unable to find his way back home. This is a good lesson for children that not getting along with their family or siblings isn't all that bad. Another reason I liked the book was the comedy. The book made me laugh several times, and that I'm sure children would also think it is funny!