Fall Mixed Up

Written by Bob Raczka

Illustrated by Chad Cameron

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2011

32 Pages

Picture book

 



                           I chose this book again because I  have been in the Fall spirit and love reading children's books about Fall. This is not your ordinary book about Fall however, things are all backwards. The book starts out " Every Septober, Every Octember, Fall fills my senses with scenes to remember" and continues swapping things around throughout the story such as "Screcrowes stand guard over candy corn sprouts, Milkweed pods open, and monarchs fly out". It entails several different events that take place in fall such as Halloween, football season, leaving falling (up), and Thanksgiving talking about each in a very non traditional way. At the end of the story the last paragraph states "Can this be fall? Close, but not quite. Go back and find all the things that aren't right".

                        Illustrations in this book were created with digitally and some were created by doing a collage. All of Cameron's illustrations capture that feeling of fall and all the things that go with it. He uses rich deep reds, oranges, yellows and browns so there is no doubting the Autumn season. He also uses dark, gloomy, foggy colors on the pages about Halloween. Each illustration takes up a whole page and the text is on either the top or bottom of every page.

                         Of course, I would use this story when talking to my class about the season of Fall. Students could  name the things that are wrong in the story and get them to change it to what it is correct. They could also write a sentence about their favorite thing about Fall and draw a picture to go along with it. I think students would enjoy this book because it is a silly book that will keep their attention and make them laugh. This book has not received any awards.

                            

Maya Was Grumpy

Written and illustrated by Courtney Pippin-Mathur

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2013

32 pages

Picture book

 

 

                        I chose this book because the title caught my attention. The word grumpy in the title is very bold and big which made me curious as to what the book is about. It also has a very cute and colorful cover. Maya wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and is extremely grumpy. She did not know exactly why she was grumpy but nothing made her happy. She tries to share her bad mood with everybody else by trying to make them mad. Maya's Gramma says things to Maya like "well then, I guess no hunting for hippos after breakfast" and "certainly no tickling tarantulas until they giggle" until Maya finally cracks a smile and starts to laugh. She gave her Gramma a big hug while she fixed her hair and packed her a snack for their adventures at the park that day.

                        This book was illustrated with pencil, ink, watercolors, and had a few added digital effects.  Courtney Pippin-Mathur uses a lot of deep purples, blues, and greens as her backgrounds throughout the story. The character Maya has bright orangish yellow hair that really stands out. The illustrations are a whole page and the text is at the top and bottom of different pages.

                         This story could be used when talking about different types of animals or when talking about families. Students could draw a picture of their family or a specific animal that they saw in the book. It could also be used when talking to your students about having a good attitude and how it can change your day. You could create a T chart with one column titled "how a bad mood can effect your day" and another column titled "how a good mood can effect your day". This book has no rewards.

                           

 



Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes

By Eric Litwin

Illustrated by James Dean

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2011

40 pages

Picture book

 

                                I chose this book because I really enjoyed reading Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons which was the first of the Pete the Cat books I have read. I really like the way the author makes his character's attitude so calm and cool in each story. In this story Pete is starting school with his new school shoes on. Every thing that happens to Pete throughout the day is "all good" because he gets to do these things while wearing his school shoes. He makes up songs through out the story about himself doing various things at school while rocking in his school shoes. At the end of the day when his mother asks him what he did at school Pete replies "I was rocking in my school shoes and I will do it again tomorrow"! Each page gives clues to a place where Pete is and asks at the end of the text "Where is Pete ?" and answers where he is when the reader turns the page.

                             This book is illustrated with water colors. James Dean always uses bright colors to make his illustrations really stand out. Pete's rocking school shoes are painted in a bright red making them especially stand out as well as his guitar.  Dean also uses a lot of calm background colors such as blues and greens to make other illustrations on the page stand out that much more.

                             

This book could be used with the younger grades when talking about different places in the school building. The students could color four pictures of places that Pete went in the school building on a four square chart made by the teacher. The students could then write one word below their picture to describe it. This book is also a good example for student to keep their cool throughout their day at school! This book has no awards.

 



There Was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea

Written by Jennifer Ward

Illustrated by Steve Gray

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2007

32pages

Picture book

 

 

                         This book got my attention because I noticed the title is very similar to There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Come to find out this book is very much like it except there is a coyote swallowing crazy things instead of the old lady. He starts out eating a fly in the beginning and by the end of the story he is swallowing the moon. The book is set in the southwestern part of the country which is evident through the illustrations. Each paragraph ends with "Yippee-o-ki-yee!'' instead of "I don't know why she swallowed the fly, perhaps she'll die!"

                         

The illustrations look very rustic and very much like the southwest. Steve Gray did a wonderful job with the characters expressions when they were in the coyotes belly after being eaten. He uses a lot of browns, tans, oranges, yellows, and greens to capture that southwestern feel.

                         This book could be used for a writing activity where the students have to write a sentence about one thing the coyote ate and his reason for eating it. The teacher could also have  separate cards with each item or animal the coyote ate and have the students put them in order according to how the coyote ate them. I like this book because it puts a twist on the "old lady who swallowed a fly" story. This book has no awards.

                         

Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?

 

Written and illustrated by Eric Carle

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2000

24 Pages

 Non-Fiction/ informational

                           

There are not many people who have gone through school that have not read an Eric Carle book or at least seen one. I chose this book because I love Carle's book but had never seen this one. This book takes you through a ton of different animals along with their babies. The question throughout is "Does a swan, fox, bear giraffe, etc., have a mother too"? The question is answered with "yes, it does just like me and you". At the end of the story is a short index type page with all the different animals that were mentioned in the story and a short definition about each.

                            Eric Carle has a unique way of illustrating his stories. He uses collages made from pieces of tissue paper that he has painted. His tissue papers are painted with lot of different shades of a particular color rather than one color alone. He makes everything on the page stand out using all kinds of colors. He uses warm colors for animals such as the fox, the giraffe, and the lion, while he uses cooler colors for animals such as the swan, penguins, and the dolphin. The text is on one page and the illustration fills the other page.

                           This book could be used in science when teaching students about different kinds of animals as well as their babies. It can also be used to teach children what the names of different groups of animals are such as a herd or pack. Children could make a Venn Diagram with one circle titled "Herd" the other titled "Pack" and the middle circle titled "Other". It tells what each parent and baby animal is called in a particular species. This group is more appropriate for the K-1st grades.  

                           





Leaf Jumpers

By Carole Gerber

Illustrated by Leslie Evans

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2004

29 pages

Picture Book

 

                                    The upcoming fall season inspired me to read this book. It talks about a lot of different trees and what kinds of leaves are on them as well as the different colors they change to during autumn. The story includes a little girl and her brother and their dog looking at several trees and leaves and playing in big piles of leaves that have just fallen on the ground. This book captures the beauty of fall with all of its deep bright colors.

                                   The illustrations cover the whole page with text in different places on each one. The illustrator used linoleum block prints and watercolors on Arches paper. Leslie Evans used bright fall-ish colors including bright oranges, deep browns, electric yellows, rusty tans, and dark reds. Evans also  shaped each leaf making them look like they do in real life and is very careful about all the little details. She paints a beautiful picture of all that fall brings.

                                    This would be a good book to use during a science lesson on the different seasons or when talking about specific trees and the types of leaves on them. The teacher could get her class to make a chart categorizing leaves to their type of shape such as smooth edged, teeth like edges, hand shaped, and needles. The students could also color leaves the appropriate fall color that it turns. In my opinion you could have this book in any elementary class because it is a good educational book about specific leaves and the fall season.



Don't Be Silly Mrs. Millie!

Written by Judy Cox

Illustrated by Joe Mathieu

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2005

29 Pages

Picture Book

 

 

                                Don't Be Silly Mrs.Millie is a book that can really get your students attention. Mrs. Millie is always teasing her kindergarten class by saying things such as telling the students to "get out your paper and penguins" when it was writing time or that they were having "gorilla cheese sandwiches" for lunch. The students were always amused by their teacher and loved to correct all the silly things she said. I did not have a particular reason for choosing this book but I ended up really liking it and its beautiful illustrations.
                               The illustrations in this book are done with Prismacolor pencil, dyes, pen, and ink. The illustrator Joe Mathieu really made the book come to life with its bright happy colors and the way he incorporated the silly things Mrs. Millie said in with each illustration. Each illustration covers the whole page and the text is positioned at the top of every page.
                               I might use this book in the classroom during journal time and definitely during reading time. The class could write a sentence about something silly Mrs. Millie said in the story or draw a picture about something that happened in the book. This book is most appropriate for the younger grades up to about second grade. This book has no awards but it is one that I recommend.


The Very Brave Bear

Written and Illustrated by Nick Bland

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2013

22 Pages

Picture book

                           

                            I chose this book because my CT for practicum had it in her classroom. The cover of the book caught my eye because its very bright and stands out. In this story Bear meets Boris Buffalo in the slimy bog. Boris scared Bear when he popped up out of the bog next to where he was picking berries, so Bear had to prove that he was just as brave as Boris the Buffalo. Throughout the story Boris and Bear are competing to see who is the bravest. At the end of the story they look into a cave and get scared by a loud roar that ends up just being a little frog. I also noticed that the little frog had been watching the friends throughout the story. The friends then agree that they are equally brave. 

                         The illustrations in this book are done with acrylics on paper. Each illustration takes up the whole page and the text is placed randomly on each page. Nick Bland uses a lot of different greens to bring the woods to life where Bear and Boris are exploring. He also uses a lot of bright colors for things such as flowers and the little frog at the end of the story.

                         In the class room I would use this book when talking about the word brave or when discussing vocabulary terms. It could also be used during a science or social studies lesson when talking about different places in the wilderness or when discussing different types of animals.





 

 

 

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

Written by  Eric Litwin

Illustrated by  James Dean

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2012

28 pages

Picture Book

 

 

                                  I really enjoyed reading this picture book. The reason I chose this book is because I like the way the author tells the story. All of his Pete the Cat Books are very laid back and cool feeling so to speak. This book takes you on an adventure with Pete the cat as he loses his shirt buttons throughout the day. Is Pete bothered about losing any of his buttons? Definitely not, because as he says "buttons come and buttons go". By the end of the day Pete the cat has lost all four of his groovy buttons but is not concerned because he still has his belly button. This book includes subtraction of numbers as Pete loses each button. This book received a Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor.

                            This book as well as all of the other Pete the Cat books are illustrated with water colors. I love how James Dean makes the pages so bright and colorful which catches children's attention and keep them interested. The illustrations cover each page and a lot of the text throughout the book has its own page as well. The text in this book is very big and stands out well. Mr. Dean also paints the number of buttons Pete has in different colors than the rest of the sentence to make it stand out. He also does this with the words "buttons come and buttons go".

                           In class this book would be good for younger children who have just started to learn simple subtraction. It is a good way to incorporate this math skill with this fun and colorful story of Pete losing his buttons. I may also use it as an example of keeping your cool when things go wrong at that life will go on. Pete stays very calm throughout the story even after losing his buttons.

 

 

 

                            





The Barn Owls

Written by Tony Johnston

Illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray

Scholastic Inc. New York, 2000

28 pages

Animal stories-General Fiction

 



                         I chose this book because I love books about animals. When I was in elementary school I was very interested in books about animals and was constantly reading one. One thing about this book that really caught my eye was the illustrations. This book talks about owls that live in a barn that is at least 100 years old. There are several owls that stay in the barn like a family. It tells about them hunting for food, when they sleep, the details of the loft they stay in, and their young. The story also has good descriptions about things around the barn such as bees buzzing around flowers, and snakes sunning and shedding their skin. The story tells how owls wake at night to do their hunting and how the glide over top of the wheat fields. It basically describes the day to day life of a barn owl.

                         The illustrations in this book are done with transparent watercolors and watercolor pencils. The illustrations in the story depict the perfect picture of owls in their natural habitat. The illustrator was also good at using the right colors and blends to capture a gorgeous view of the rural area including the wheat fields and the barn. The colors bring out the beauty in the owls and give you a realistic feeling. The illustrations are a full page and the text is placed in random places on each page.

                        This book would be good to use during a science lesson about different animals habitats or learning about animals in different parts of the country. It could also be incorporated when talking about predatory animals. I like this book because it describes where owls stay and what exactly they do. This may be helpful to a lot of students who know what owls are but do not know that much about them.