The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
by Paul Goble
30 Pages

This story is about a young girl that loves horses. One afternoon she lays down outside for a nap. It starts to rain outside and this causes the girl to fall into a deeper sleep. The storm starts to get really bad and therefore it wakes the girl up. When she wakes up she is frightened so she runs away with the horses. A stallion protects her. Her family misses her so they set out to find her. When they find her, they bring her home. The girl is very lonely and unhappy when she gets home because she misses being near the wild horses. Her family allows her to return to live with the wild horses. This makes her happy and she agrees to come back every year to visit her family.
Personal Rating-3
I also thought this book was boring. The plot was not exciting. Nothing fun or unexpected happened. In my opinion it was a dry book.

Town Mouse and Country Mouse

Town Mouse and Country Mouse
by Jan Brett
32 Pages

This story is about two different mouse families. One family lives in town and the other family lives in the country. The two families decide to switch homes for a few days. Each family realizes that they have become accustomed to the things near their homes. For example, the town mouse family knows not to go near a trap that is set with cheese. The country mouse family knows to stay home during a storm. After they have switched places and experienced what it would be like to live somewhere else they all realize that there is no place like home.

Personal Rating- 3

I thought this story was boring. The plot was not very exciting. It has a good moral to the story though which would be don’t take anything for granted.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

The Hello, Goodbye Window
by Norton Juster
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
32 Pages

This story is about a young girl that stays over at her grandparent’s home very frequently. Her favorite thing about her grandparents house is the big window which she calls the hello, goodbye window. She enjoys this window because it is right where it needs to be. She can see the outside world with her grandparents. They get to great each morning and say goodnight to the stars every day. The main character is very close to her grandparents and does not think of them as being old. They are her closest friends.

Person Rating-5

This is another good book that people can relate to. I love my grandma’s house because it always smells like freshly baked cookies. You just walk into my grandma’s house and you can feel love. This is the kind of feeling you get when you read this story.

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry
175 Pages

This anthology of poems consists of many different artists. There are nearly 200 poems in this collection and the topics of the poems include: animals, nature, around the world, people and places, school, feelings, food nonsense, and famous mother goose poems. The poems in this anthology are very short and easy to read. There are also brightly colored pictures on each page.

Personal Rating= 5

I like this book because it has a very wide variety of poems. The topics discussed are very broad so this book could be used to reach a wide variety of students. Also, I like this book because the poems are kid-friendly and enjoyable to read. They are spunky, upbeat, and inspirational. You get to see the world through a child’s eyes again.

Me I Am

Me I Am
by Jack Prelutsky
Pictures by Christine Davenier
32 Pages

This is a very short picture poem all about being yourself. The poem is written in first person and explains the importance of being “me”. It states that there is no other me and never ever will there be another me. The pictures that go along with the lines of the poems demonstrate how every individual has unique characteristics that set them apart from everyone else.

Personal Rating= 5

I like this poem because it is important for everyone to realize that we are all different and more importantly, that it is okay to be different from everyone else. I like how the author of the poem points out that there is only one “me”. I think this will help children learn the idea that no one could ever replace them.

Penny From Heaven

Penny from Heaven
by Jennifer L Holm
274 Pages

Penny is a young Italian girl that lives with her mother and her mother’s parents. Her father died when she was a baby so she doesn’t remember him much. Her mother and her grandparents will not tell her anything about him because it upsets her mother to talk or hear about him. Penny gets to spend time with her father’s side of the family too. This side of her family is Italian. Her father had many brothers and they all have unique characteristics. For example, her Uncle Dominic lives in his car. Anyways, the main thing this book is about is Penny trying to find out more about her father. Penny spends her summer break with her cousin Frankie. They get into all kinds of trouble together. One day they are in her grandmother’s basement (her father’s mother) and Penny is trying to operate the Wringer Washer. Penny gets her arm stuck in the Wringer and has to be rushed to the hospital. While in the hospital she learns the truth about her father. She is glad that she finally knows what really happened.

Personal Rating-4.5

The book was a little on the boring side in that the chapters were long and basically told the same information again and again. I do like this book though because it gives information about a different culture. Penny’s father was Italian. The reader gets to see how the Italian family celebrated birthdays or how they mourned deaths. Penny’s father died in an internment camp because he was Italian and owned a radio that he for some reason was not supposed to have. This opens the reader up to hatred for no reason. This would be a good book to read in order to find more out about a different culture and a little bit about past history.

The Bracelet

The Bracelet
by Yoshiko Uchida
Illustrated by Joanna Yardley
32 Pages

This story is about a young Japanese-American girl named Emi. Emi and her family are forced to move because the government does not trust them because they are Japanese. Emi and her family have to leave behind everything the love and know. Emi’s best friend Laura gives her a braclet as a going away gift. She tells her to wear it and think of her. Emi and her family leave their home and move to the interment camp they are required to live in. Here Emi realizes she has lost the bracelet her friend gave her. She becomes so terribly upset. However, Emi realizes that maybe she doesn’t need the bracelet to remember her friend, she has memories in her heart to remember her old friend, home and life.

Personal Rating-5

This book is an excellent source to use to teach children about differences in races. It demonstrates how people disliked other races for no reason. This book could be used to teach children that you should not judge someone by the way they look. You should really get to know someone before you form opinions about them. Children could relate to the main character Emi. She had to leave behind her whole life because the government thought she couldn’t be trusted. Students will wonder why they thought they couldn’t trust her.

Flower Garden

Flower Garden
by Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
32 Pages

This is a quick picture book that briefly tells how a litter girl is making a flower box for her mother’s birthday present. The book is not every detailed but the pictures show every step the little girl takes to create the flower garden. The book also tells where the box will be kept so that the flowers will grow.

Personal Rating-3

I thought this book would give more details and explain how to make a flower garden. I thought children would be able to read this book and then go home and make flower gardens with their parents or that they could possibly plant a flower in class as a group project. The book only briefly discusses how to gather a box and soil and place the seeds in it in order to let them grow. The book does give the importance of sunlight though and how it helps plants grow.

Tuck Everlasting

Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie Babbit
139 Pages

Winnie Foster lives in a tiny town called Tree Gap. Her family owns a wooded area where no one else lives. Well at least no one thinks anyone lives there. One day Winnie decides to go exploring in the woods and she meets Jesse Tuck. Winnie asks him how old he is and he says 104 years old. Winnie is instantly curious about Jesse. Jesse, his brother, and his mother decide they should take Winnie back to their house to explain to her their story and to convince her not to tell anyone else about it. Winnie learns that the Tuck family had drank some water from a magical stream and that their age was basically frozen in time. They keep living but they do not get any older. A man in a yellow suit is passing by and hears this story. The man in the yellow suit goes and tells Winnie’s parents where she is. He says that if they give him the wooded area he will return their daughter safely. They agree. The man comes to the Tuck residence to try and get Winnie. The Tuck family knows that he knows their secret and they do not trust him. Mrs. Tuck shoots the man in the yellow suit. The town constable happens to be arriving at the exact time Mrs. Tuck shot the man. The constable arrests Mrs. Tuck. Winnie decides it is up to her to save Mrs. Tuck because it is her fault in the first place. In the mean time, Jesse tried to convince Winnie to drink from the stream when she was 17 so they could spend the rest of time together. Winnie does not end up drinking from the stream, but she does save Mrs. Tuck.

Personal Rating-4

It is hard to believe that anything like this could ever happen. The book was very good though. It has a lot of things in it such as love and friendship. People always wish they could live forever and this book gives a good explanation for why you would not want to live forever.

Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan
by Steven Kellogg
48 Pages

Paul Bunyan was the largest and strongest baby his mother and the state of Maine had ever seen before. This story tells the legend of how Paul Bunyan left Maine and took his Lumbering Crew with him to start a new life out west. The tales of how he ran with deer, wrestled with grizzles, and found babe the blue ox are shared in this book. Also, this book tells how Paul and his crew cleared land to make the Appalachian Mountains, how they dug the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, and finally how they worked to shape the Grand Canyon.

Personal Rating= 4.5

Steven Kellogg did a good job retelling this story and the pictures are great. I personally do not enjoy these types of stories but I know that children will love them because of all of the wild adventures that Paul and his crew encounter. The story is very creative and does a good job at holding ones attention.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
by Joan Aiken
Illustrated by Belinda Downes
44 Pages

In this Fairytale, Snow White has an evil Stepmother, the Queen, who hates her because Snow White is more beautiful than her. The Queen has a magical mirror that tells her who is the fairest of them all. The Queen has Snow White sent away to the Forrest because the mirror tells her that Snow White is prettier and that is where Snow White finds the home of the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White is warmly welcomed by the Dwarfs and she agrees to cook and clean for them. They warn her to watch out for her evil stepmother. Snow White’s evil stepmother learns from her magical mirror that Snow White is still alive so she poisons an apple and takes it to Snow White. Snow White takes the apple, becomes unconscious for awhile, and has a prince fall in love with her in the meantime. When Snow White finally wakes up, she lives happily ever after with the prince, and the evil Queen dies. This version of the story is more animated than other versions of Snow White.

Personal Rating= 5

I really enjoyed this story. I was surprised that the Dwarfs names in this story were not Dock, Happy, Grumpy, etc. They were given names like Tim, Sim, and Sachie. Other than the Dwarfs names and how the Queen dies in the end, this story was exactly how I remembered it to be. Also, I enjoyed the pictures in the story. They really helped enhance the reading.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm
Translated by Randall Jarrell
Pictures by Nancy Ekholm Burkert
31 Pages

This version of the Fairytale Snow White is very similar to the other one that I read. It is still the same story about Snow White being sent way by her evil stepmother and finding the seven dwarfs to live with. At the end of the story, the Queen dies because the dwarfs heat her shoes on hot coals and then when the evil Queen puts them on, she burns herself to death. This allows Snow White to live the rest of her life free of the evil queen.

Personal Rating= 5

This story was done differently than the other version of Snow White that I read but I like it just as much as the other one. This version tends to be more traditional and formal. The pictures in the story are not as animated as the ones in the other version. I thought the book was great and would recommend it to others to read.

Tuesday

Tuesday
by David Wiesner
32 Pages

Crazy things happen on Tuesdays during the night. In this book, frogs start flying through the air on their Lilly pads. A man is up eating a sandwich around midnight and wonders what all the commotion is about. The frogs continue to fly around the neighborhood until morning comes. They make it safely back to their pond but leave their Lilly pads behind. Investigators wonder why there are Lilly pads in the middle of the street. The next Tuesday, pigs are spotted flying through the air.

Personal Rating= 3

Children will most likely enjoy this book because the pictures are very entertaining. Children will find the idea of frogs flying funny. However, the storyline is on the boring side. There was no moral to the story.

Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue?

Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue?
By Tana Hoban
32 Pages

This concept book asks the reader to state how many objects in the book are specific colors. For example, on page one there is a red circle at the bottom which tells the reader he or she is looking for the color red. The reader should respond by recognizing that the girl’s jacket, boots, and umbrella are all red. This book just allows the reader to relate everyday objects to their color.

Personal Rating-5

This is another excellent resource that can be used to teach young learners. This is a really creative way to teach children the concept that the apple is red and that grass is green. The reader is able to see that there is a difference between every color. Also, the reader/learner can see that some objects are the same color even though they are not the same thing. Again, I could recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn the concept of color.

Who Wants One?

Who Wants One?
By Mary Serfozo
Illustrated by Keiko Narahashi
32 Pages

This is a book that teaches how to count to ten. In the story a little boy goes to a friend and says he wants “one” of the things from the box. The friend goes on two ask if he would like to instead and the boy says no I only want one. The friend continues to ask if the boy would like three or four or five things all the up to ten things and the boy responds each time that he only wants one. At the end of the book the friend counts backwards from ten all the way to one.

Personal Rating-5

This would be a great book to use to help teach children to count to ten. It demonstrates how four is more than three and how three is more than two and so on. The pictures in this book are excellent because the help the reader see that there are two things or three things or four things and so on. I would recommend this book to someone who wants to learn to count.

Paddington's ABC

Paddington’s ABC by Michael Bond
Illustrated by John Jobban

In this story, the author takes a each letter of the alphabet and gives a word that starts with each specific letter. A picture is also shown to demonstrate the word. For example, on page one, letter Aa is given, the word apple is given, and a big red apple is drawn. The book contains examples like this from A all the way to Z.

Personal Rating-5

This book is an excellent way to teach children the idea that each word starts with a specific letter. They can learn to associate the letter with a word and a picture that relates to the word. The examples that are given in the book are common everyday objects that most children have seen before. I think this book would be a very effective resource to use to teach children their alphabet.

The Napping House

The Napping House
by Audrey Wood
Illustrated By Don Wood
27 Pages

This is a peaceful story about a snoring granny, a dreaming child, a dozing dog, and a cozy bed. Everyone is sleeping until a flea joins and causes complete chaos in the sleeping house!

Personal Rating-5

I remember reading this story in Kindergarten! This is an easy book for children to read because the story builds on the previous sentence. For example, you read about the snoring granny. Then you read about the dreaming child and the snoring granny. Then you read about the dozing dog, the dreaming child, and the snoring granny. The pictures in this book are very animated and really enhance the story. You can see all of the chaos that is created when the flea decides to bite the dog!

Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters

Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters
By Patricia C. McKissack and Frerick McKissack
68 Pages

This book explains the differences in being a member of a family that owned a plantation and being a member of a family that worked on a plantation. This book discusses slavery and how life was different for them. The book explains how the slaves did things to celebrate the holiday compared to how the master and his family did things to celebrate the holiday. The author puts into perspective how truly different things were.

Personal Rating- 5

I like how the author told how the master and his family did things and then compared it to how slaves and their families did things on the days leading up to and following Christmas. The author makes it clear for the reader to understand how different life was for slaves. It also explains how little they had. This book can teach the reader a lot about the topic of slavery. I think this book would be best understood and respected by a reader no younger than the fifth grade. The book talks about a lot of important things and a reader any younger than fifth grade would probably have a hard time understanding this story.

The Keeping Quilt

The Keeping Quilt
by Patricia Polacco
32 Pages

Great Grandma Anna was from Russia. When she moved, the only things she brought with her were her favorite dress and her babushka. Anna started to outgrow her favorite dress. Her mother decided to use the family’s clothes to make a quilt that would help remind them of home. She used Anna’s favorite dress for the edging. This quilt was used for many different things. It was used as a tablecloth at a picnic, a huppa at a wedding, and baby blanket for Anna’s daughter Carle. The blanket was passed down from generation to generation and was used for the same things over and over again. It was a family heirloom.

Personal Rating-5

I like how Polacco demonstrated the Russian culture by telling the story of the keeping quilt. Many family’s have different heirlooms that are passed from one generation to the next. The pictures in this book went along really well with the story.

Cookies-Bite-Size Life Lessons

Cookies -Bite- Size Life Lessons
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrated by Jane Dyer
40 Pages

This book is like a small dictionary for children. The author relates words like cooperate, patient, fair, loyal, envy, and regret to different experiences with cookies. Example: You have to be patient when baking cookies. If you eat too many cookies you will regret doing so.

Personal Rating= 4

This is a good way to teach children what “big” words mean. All children enjoy eating cookies so the author had a good idea when she decided to relate the words to cookies!

Shug

Shug
by Jenny Han
248 Pages

Shug is about a young girl, Ann Marie, who is experiencing many changes in her life. She is starting Jr. High, her parents always fight, her moms a drunk, her sister is popular, and her relationship with her best friend Mark is now different. She believes she is in love with Mark. However, Mark is all about being cool now and is always leaving Ann Marie out. All of her girl friends now have boyfriends and life seems complicated. She starts tutoring bad boy Jack and realizes he is not as bad as she thought. They start forming a close friendship and towards the end of the story she realizes that maybe she likes Jack as more than a friend.

Personal Rating-5

I loved this book! I think this book is so great because every “preteen” can relate to this story. It is scary to start a new school and make all new friends. It’s also hard to learn that the friends you thought were your true friends really aren’t your true friends after all. The book also talks about relationships and how complicated they seem when you are in Jr. High. I just really liked this book and I think those who read it will too.

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman
by Alan Schroeder
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
40 Pages

This book tells about Harriet Tubman growing up on the Brodas plantation. The book talks about her experiences she had while living on that plantation. The reader is able to find out why Tubman became a field slave. One day Harriet decided to free muskrats from a trap and was then severely beaten. This experience led her to make up her mind that she was going to escape from the plantation. She was desperate to escape and talked to her parents about doing so every day. However, she did not escape to freedom until she was 24 years old.

Personal Rating-5

This book would be a good way to teach young students about slavery and the events that led to the beginning of the Underground Railroad. The book was easy to read and therefore students will be able to read it and learn a lot from it. I liked this book because it explained Harriet Tubman before she was famous. Every other book that I have read about her has been about her life after the Underground Railroad.

Slam

Slam
by Walter Dean Myers
288 Pages

This book is about a boy who is growing up in the “hood”. All he really cares about is basketball. He does poorly in school. His basketball doesn’t let him start any of the games because he thinks Slam only cares about himself and is not a team player. The book talks about some of the struggles and experiences Slam has growing up in his neighborhood. At one time Slam thinks his best friend is dealing crack. Slam learns the hard way that you have to make a positive effort in order to get rewards.

Personal Rating- 3

This book tended to jump around a lot. I found it hard to follow. It took me a long time to read this book and it really wasn’t that long. The author did not really do anything special to make this book exciting. I found it very dry. However, I think this book is good to read because it lets you experience different cultures. It opened me up to a different lifestyle. The reader gets to see that not everyone has an easy life.

Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
245 Pages

In this book there is an orphan, Bud, who is running away to Grand Rapids, Michigan in order to find his father. He thinks he knows who is father is because of these flyers that his mother had in the house before she passed away. The book explains a lot of Bud’s childhood experiences and that is how the reader gets to know him. Bud makes it to Grand Rapids safely and starts to make some really good friends. In the end he is surprised to find out that he has met his grandfather, not his father.

Personal Rating-5

I personally liked this book because it demonstrates determination. Bud knew what he wanted and he was willing to stop at nothing until he finally got what he wanted. I like how the author let the reader get to know things about Bud through his past experiences. I also liked the twist at the end when he found out about his grandfather. The story was sad at times but it had a really happy ending.

Lincoln: A Photobiography

Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
150 Pages

This book is basically an outline of Abraham Lincoln’s life. It describes where he lived and where he grew up. It talks about how he was really a simple man. The pictures that are included in this book are neat because you can see what his house looked like and other aspects of his life.

Personal Rating- 3

This book has a lot of good information about Lincoln in it. However, unless you are writing a research paper or are just trying to find out more about Lincoln, you would probably find this book incredibly boring. I did however enjoy looking at the pictures because Lincoln lived many years ago and I always find it interesting to see how people lived then compared to now.

Rapunzel

Rapunzel
by Paul O. Zelinsky
48 Pages

A man and a woman waited many years to have a baby. While pregnant the woman craved the neighbors-the sorcerer lady- rapunzel leaves. The man snuck down to get some leaves one day and got caught by the sorceress and had to agree that she could have the baby after it was born in order for his wife to have the leaves. When Rapunzel was 12 the sorceress led her to live in a tower in the middle of the forest. She would come to check on her and tell her to let down her hair so she could climb up. One day Rapunzel was singing and a Prince heard her and fell in love with her. He heard the sorceress say let down your hair so one night he tried that and it worked. The two fell in love and the sorceress knew nothing of it. When she found out, she cut off Rapunzel’s hair and sent her away. In the meantime Rapunzel had twins. The Prince ended up finding Rapunzel and the twins and they all lived happily ever after away from the sorceress.

Personal Rating- 5

This book has wonderful pictures. They could tell the story alone. This book is a great fairy tale because Rapunzel gets to escape the evil sorcerer lady and live happily ever after with her family!

The Polar Express

The Polar Express
Written and Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg
32 Pages

The Polar Express is about a boy that doesn’t really believe in Santa anymore. He goes to sleep and dreams about going to the north pole. Santa asks him what he wants for Christmas and he tells him he wants a bell off of his sleigh. On the train ride home the boy realizes he lost the bell. When the boy wakes up on Christmas morning, the bell is under the tree in a box with a note left from Santa. The boys parents tell him the bell is broken but he hears the bell ring. The book concludes by saying how people don’t believe in Santa after awhile, but the magic of Christmas never fades away.

Personal Rating- 5

This was my favorite book when I was little. I still enjoyed reading it after I didn’t believe in Santa anymore. This book gives you hope and recreates the magic of Christmas. The pictures in this book are amazing as well.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J.K. Rowling
309 Pages

Harry lived with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudley for his whole life. He knew nothing of his parents. When Harry turned 13 everything changed. He found out that he was a wizard and was allowed to attend Hogwarts School of Wizardry. Harry was so excited about this! He went away to school and made two really great friends, Ron and Hermione. Harry also learned about what happened to his parents and how he got his scar. Also, he found out that he is really good at the game Quidditch. One night, a troll breaks into Hogwarts looking for something. Harry and Ron end up defeating the Troll in order to save Hermione. After this, Harry starts to become curious about things going on at Hogwarts. Harry learns about the Sorcerer’s Stone from the grounds keeper, Hagrid. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to sneak off and save the Sorcerer’s Stone from Lord Voldemort. Harry defeats Voldemort and becomes a hero. Harry loves his new life and cannot wait for his second year at Hogwarts to being.

Personal Rating- 5

J.K. Rowling has a brilliant mind. My summary did not do her book any justice. She was so creative when writing this book. She created the school, the characters, and Quidditch. The book is so descriptive and the story just comes to life. The plot is great because it keeps the reader’s attention. This book is a page turner and it’s hard to put it down! I also like this book for other reasons as well. This book demonstrates good ethics. Harry is always trying to do the right thing. Also, he doesn’t do things for himself to do well; he does things to help others who are in need. The book also demonstrates honesty. Harry demonstrates the importance of telling the truth and not hiding things from people.

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
384 pages

This book is about a young girl named Mary who is sent to live with her Uncle. Her Uncle is always gone though. Mary’s servant, Martha, encourages her to go outside and play. Mary ends up finding a secret garden and decides to bring it back to life. She asks Dickon to help her does this. One night she is in her room getting ready for bed and she hears someone crying down the hall and decides to find out who it is. It is her cousin Collin. He stays in bed all the time because he believes he is dying. Mary assures him he is not dying and invites him to join her and Dickon in the garden. By being outside, Collin grows stronger and healthier and so does the secret garden. Collin decides to surprise his father with the garden and his improving health. The Uncle had been depressed so many years because his wife died when Collin was a baby. The garden had become a secret because that is where his wife liked to spend her time and he could not think of going there because it made him miss her so much. Luckily when the Uncle sees the beautiful garden and his healthy son, he becomes happy again.

Personal Rating- 5

This book is a classic. I liked it so well because Mary learned how to be a nicer person. She also was able to make good friends: Martha, Dickon, and Collin. Collin was able to grow healthy and strong. This is just a positive book and has a happy outlook on everything. This is a good book for early readers because the print is big and has several pages. A student will feel like he or she is able to read a really difficult book!