You be You by Linda Kranz

You be You

Linda Kranz

Taylor Trade Publishing

October 16, 2011

32 Pages

Picture book/Fiction

     This book was shown to me by my sister. She is a teacher as well. She bought the book for her son who is was in kindergarten at the time. This story shows that there are many different types of people in the world. Everyone has their own way of doing something but it is okay to just be yourself. The story is told by using a fish named Adri. Adri notices some of the fish in the ocean swimming in circles, others were swimming to the left, while the others were swimming to the right. Adri is amazed at the number of fish and all of the different behaviors each of them have. Adri's mother was the voice of reason in this story saying "Life is a grand journey, you be you". 

     The illustrations in this book were done with acrylic paints. The book had a flat finish. Every page was filled with beautiful and colorful pictures. The colors were very bright and vivid. There were patterns of fish covering some of the pages. These pages served a purpose. The purpose is to search for Adri. 

     This book is appropriate for kindergarten all the way up to fourth or fifth grade. It is a great book that teaches children about being yourself and holding your head up high. This book serves more than just one purpose is one of the reasons I love it so much. Similarities and differences can be taught and discovered using this book because on one page it will have words like left and right and then it will talk about up and down. This theme is played out throughout the book. Vocabulary could also be taught using this book. There are so many important words children need to know such as high and low, right and left, same and different. The illustrations could be used in a classroom to talk about pattern discrimination. This book has no awards.

Beautiful Oops! By Barney Saltzberg

Beautiful Oops!

Barney Saltzberg

Workman Publishing Company

September 23, 2010

28 Pages

Picture book/ fiction

      I chose this book because my mother recommended it to me. She is a first grade teacher and she said that she reads it to her class at the beginning of the year. This is a short and cute fold out picture book that talks about the mistakes that children and even adults make. Tearing a paper, leaving a stain and even dripping some paint are just a few of the topics that were covered. The moral of the story is that it is okay to make a mistake, everyone does it. You can turn that mistake into something beautiful!

     The illustrations in this book are very cute and child like. The illustrator used an array of mixed media. The colors are all bright and vivid all painted with water colors. The use of bright reds, yellows and greens made this book look like it had come straight from a child's coloring book. The use of cut paper or two dimensional images were used through out the book. 3-D images were also used to illustrate. 

     This book would be appropriate for preschool, kindergarten and first grade. But I believe that any child or even an adult who has been taught to think that mistakes are a bad thing should read this book. This book could be used to practice sequence. The story could be read to the students and they could retell it using pictures and placing them in order. Using this book with an art activity for younger children would also be a great classroom activity that could be done together. Students usually get very upset when their art work is messed up by one of their peers. The classroom working as a group to finish an art activity would allow them to learn how to cooperate and share. It would also show the importance of team work and working together to complete a task.This book has no awards. 

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

The Day the Crayons Quit

Drew Daywalt

Oliver Jeffers

Philomel

June 27, 2013

40 Pages

Picture book/Fiction

      I chose this book because I was looking for a fun way to introduce myself to the classroom at Constantine Elementary School. I am happy to say that this book was a huge hit with the children in the classroom and my cooperating teacher. They all love the book and the children were full of laughter and smiles. The Day the Crayons Quit is a cute story about the crayons in a box. The crayons had traits just like you and I. One day a student began to look for his crayons. Instead of crayons he found  letters written by the crayons. The letters stated things like I am bored, I am tiered, I am misunderstood. Some of the crayons had real problems and they were ready to let the child know. One of the crayons was upset and wanted to know why his paper was peeling off. So the crayons went on strike. But the story is really in the words that the crayons wrote before quitting and what the boy did to solve the problems.

     The illustrations in this book are amazing. All of the illustrations were done with crayons. The text part of the illustrations were written as though a child had done it. I can not imagine anything better than that. The pages were all very colorful and vivid. There were allot of  cool and warm greens, blues, reds and oranges used to create this masterpiece. The illustrations in the book could have told the story by themselves. The actual text that went along with illustrations shared the pages but the pictures took up most of the book.

     This book could be used to teach about point of view in a second and third grade class. So even the older kids could enjoy it. Another idea for the older children would be to teach how to write a persuasive letter. Students in kindergarten and first grade would absolutely love this book so it would be a shame to not use it in a lesson. These students could practice sequence and predicting what each color might say or do. There is an endless number of lessons this book could be used for. It is a must have in elementary school classrooms! This book is relatively new and has not received any awards.

     

The Worst Day of My Life Ever! By Julia Cook

                                                         The Worst Day of My Life Ever!

Julia Cook

Kelsey De Weerd

Boys Town Press

March 15, 2011 

32 Pages
Picture book/Realistic fiction

    

      I chose this book because I was told by one of my cooperating teachers that it would be a great edition to add to my classroom library. She also told me that this book has always been her go to book at the beginning of the school year in her kindergarten classroom.This story is about a boy who seems to be having the worst day. Come to find out the only reason he has bad days is because he is unable to listen and follow directions. His mishaps not only occur at school but at home and while at soccer practice as well. This book teaches children in a loving manner how to overcome some of the struggles of growing up and learning how to follow the rules. This book is also a great tool for parents to use. There is a great list of parenting tips towards the end. 

     The illustrations in this book are very vivid and intriguing for children. In order to get that bright and vivid color a layered watercolor paint was used. The illustrator layered the colors in order to get that textured look. For example on several of the pages you can see each and every detail of the young boys hair. This is because of the layered effect.

     This book would be a great tool for any school counselor to use with troubled students in early elementary school. Students could learn very valuable lessons if read aloud as part of a literature lesson. Cause and effect could be taught with this lesson as well. I would definitely use this book at the beginning of the school year to teach the students listening skills in a kindergarten and first grade classroom. The students would begin to understand what it means to be a good listener. Following directions and important social skills could also be a valuable lesson learned by reading this book. The Worst Day of My Life Ever received the respectable Mom's Choice Award.

I'm Here By Peter H. Reynolds

Title: I'm Here 

 Peter H. Reynolds

 Atheneum Books for Young Readers

 August 16, 2011

 32 Pages

 Picture book/ Realistic fiction

     I chose to read and then write about the book I'm Here  because the message behind the story is so near and dear to my heart. This book was written with an autistic child in mind but could really be about any child who may be secluded, lonely or reclusive. If there is a child who is isolated he or she will definitely see themselves within in the book. I'm Here is a simple yet refreshing story about children and their friendships. The story starts out with a young boy all alone while the rest of the children are playing together on the playground. The young boy looks lost and sad but continues to let the world know that he is here and he wants for his voice to be heard. Finally his voice is heard and this is when I remembered how meaningful children's friendships can truly be. 

     The illustrations in this book are mostly sketches although the author does use some watercolors throughout the book. The sketches are very simple yet so unique. The type of medium he chose to use makes the illustrations look transparent. The sketches are emphasized by the use of the watercolors. The text and the pictures share most of the pages and then there are some pages with hardly any illustrations at all. I am not sure if I just really loved the illustrations that much or if the story behind the pictures allowed me to love them even more.

     This book would go great with a language arts lesson. After reading the book aloud to the class the students could all write about a time that they felt alone. This book could also be used as a read aloud for a literature lesson. The teacher could stop on important pages and ask questions such as "What do you think is going to happen next?" As part of the literature lesson the teacher could ask the students to place events in the story in the order that they happened. This would allow the students to become more familiar with sequence. I chose this book because of the important life lesson I believe it shared. This would be an amazing book to share with a kindergarten or first grade class when learning about communities, friendship and rules. I would actually read this book the first week of school. It is never to early for children to learn valuable life lessons. So far this book has not received any awards.