So Far From The Bamboo Grove By Yoko Kawashima Watkins

So Far From The Bamboo Grove is a historical fiction novel that is told from the perspective of a Japanese girl named Yoko during World War II and post war time. Yoko and her family must leave Korea because Korean soldiers are killing anyone with Japanese connections. This novel paints vivid pictures of hope and determination with its descriptive text. While reading this book I became engrossed in the time period and felt as though I was traveling with Yoko. I believe that this book along, with the book entitled The Year of Impossible Goodbyes, would be a great set to include in the classroom. Both of these books represent a different view point of the war. Although I enjoyed both books, in some ways I enjoyed So Far From The Bamboo Grove More. Yoko is faced with many hardships such as death, injuries, hiding and other tragedies but she never gives up hope. I also liked that this book had a strong theme of family. My family has made me who I am today. Also, Yoko’s family is one aspect that helped her survive and gave her hope in a hard time. Although this book introduces controversial concepts I believe that it should still be added in the classroom. I believe that many students will be able to connect to the characters and also build an emotional connection to the time period and literature.

Animal Disguises By Belinda Weber

This book is a non-fiction book that includes fact about the many defense mechanisms and camouflage techniques animals use. This book also provides facts on everything from what camouflage is, counter shading, shape shifters, strips, spots, patterns, animal body structure and texture, and playing tricks on predators. Not only did this book provide fun, interesting facts but it also had a unique layout. As you open the book, the information and photographs take up the two pages. I also liked that the book included instructions for crafts with an animal theme. This is an interactive way for children to use the information they have learned about. All in all, I loved this book! This book provides a entertaining way for children to learn about factual information. I also believe it is important that children learn how to read non-fiction text. Different types of text provide different information and provide a different literacy experience.

Destination Australia By Jonathan Grupper

Not only is this book fun for children to read but it is also fun for adults too. The vivid photographs are intriguing and engage readers of all ages. This book is created by the National Geographic Society thus, it has amazing pictures. Additionally, this book includes information on concepts ranging from ostriches to starfish. I love learning about animals and different places around the world. Similarly, I feel as though children will not only love learning about new facts but also love looking at the pictures included in this book. I believe that books can provide readers with trips around the world, allow them to enter a new world and adventure while turning each page. This book provides readers of all ages with a free and interesting trip to Australia.

Bold and Bright Black and White Animals By Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

This book includes facts and information about black and white animals. This book not only provides factual information but it also sends the message to children that great animals do not need to be giant creatures or very colorful creatures. This book sends the message that animals come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. I also loved the illustrations included in this book. Theses illustrations take up the whole page, have amazing shading and many details. This book includes facts about skunks, penguins, zebras, pandas, whales, cows, snakes, lemurs, butterflies and more. Another aspect of this book that I like is that the author asks the readers questions about the information they are reading. This actively engages the reader and also exercises the reader’s cognitive thought process. Lastly, I like that the author included an index of the animals talked discussed in the back of the book. I believe that this book sends the message that no matter if thing is black or white, small or big, colorful or not, that we are all individuals.

The Picture of Morty and Ray By Daniel Pinkwater and Jack E. Davis

This picture book is about two young friends, Morty and Ray, who stay up late one night to watch a late movie. This movie was about a handsome man who got his picture painted but for every bad thing he did, his picture turned ugly. Accordingly, Morty and Ray paint a picture of themselves and start doing bad things to their friends. For every name the two friends say, or every push they complete, their picture get uglier. This book sends the message that even though you can be beautiful on the outside, doing horrible things to others can make you ugly on the inside. I also like that their friendship remained after all the problems they faced. These children figured out on their own doing mean things to their friends was wrong and apologized. I also love the illustrations in this book. The illustrator used a unique black and white versus color contrasts that really made the message come alive.

The Experiments of Doctor Vermin by Tim Egan

This picture book is a little more challenging but sends a great message to children. Sheldon is a pig who is trying to find a cooking job on Halloween when his car breaks down. Sheldon then runs to the first mansion he sees because he is afraid of Halloween and wolves. Doctor Vermin is the man who lives in the mansion and conducts evil experiments. He wants to rule the world so he tries turning Sheldon into a controllable giant. Luckily for Sheldon, he was not brainwashed and runs to the next mansion where he finds two humans. Later that day, Sheldon discovers that the humans were really wolves! They were turned into humans by Doctor Vermin. In the end, Sheldon saves the day and turns everyone back to normal and sends Doctor Vermin to jail. Sheldon makes a self discovery that he is brave. He saved the day and over came his fear of wolves. I believe that this book sends the message to not judge someone based on their looks. Sheldon discovered that wolves are actually nice creatures. Additionally, Sheldon realizes that he is brave. I believe that this sends the message to children to have a self-esteem and a positive self image. I believe that it is important for educators to teach about self esteem in the classroom. When a child truly believes in themselves, they can accomplish their goals. Schools not only help students grow academically, but the education system also helps students grow as individuals.

The Year of Impossible Goodbyes By Sook Nyul Choi

The Year of Impossible Goodbyes is a historical fiction novel that follows a ten year old girl named Sookan on a life changing adventure. This book shows a Korean’s perspective on the Japanese’s occupation during Word War II. As Sookan was faced with the negative aspects of war such as seeing her mother work in a sock factory, being terrorized in her own home, dealing with death and other turmoil, she faced the challenge of reaffirming or developing a new self identity. I believe that this book would be an excellent book to include in the classroom. This book provides excellent text to connect to other text, to the self and to the world. The Year of Impossible Goodbye could be a great way to introduce a historical concept. Children reading this book could also relate to Sookan in some ways. For example, she is ten years old and also questioning her identity. Although this book many introduce controversial concepts, I believe that discussing concepts that The Year of Impossible Goodbyes will provide many benefits in the classroom.

The President and Mom’s Apple Pie By Michael Garland

This book takes place in 1909 when President Taft comes to a young boy’s small town. As soon as President Taft steps off the train he smells a delicious aroma in the air. Thus, the young boy offers to show him around town until he discovers what that delicious aroma is. The young boy and President Taft stop at numerous different ethnic restaurants. President Taft devours a variety of different food including Italian food, stir fry, ribs and finally the young boy’s mother’s apple pie. Accordingly, the young boy’s mother becomes a hero and the young boy is very proud of his mother. All in all, I found the illustrations in the book interesting. The illustrator seemed to use a digital technique that gave the pictures a technology accent. I have not read many historical fiction books and I liked that this was a picture book. I feel as though reading a book like this as a read aloud will bring history alive for the students. Reading this book would be a great way to introduce history into the classroom.

Wolf! Wolf! By John Rocco

After I read this picture book, it became one of my new favorite children’s story. Wolf! Wolf! is a modern story with a twist about the “boy who cried wolf” too many times. this book takes place within an Asian culture around spring time. I love the illustrations and the mixture of text and illustrations to tell the story line. Wolf! Wolf! is about an old wolf who is too old to catch any meat so he becomes a vegetarian and grows food in his garden. One day he hears a young boy yelling “wolf” and thinks the boy is inviting him to have dinner with him. Since the wolf’s garden in filled with weeds, he takes a walk to find the boy. Also, the boy has called out “wolf’ too many times so when the wolf really is around the villagers do not come to help save the goats. Accordingly, the wolf makes a deal with the boy; the wolf said if the boy sends one goat to his garden he will not eat the other ones. The boy agrees to give him a goat. Surprisingly, the wolf has found that the goat has eaten all his weeds which allowed his vegetables to grow. In the end the wolf and goat develop a unique friendship. I loved that this book sends the message that friends can come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. I believe that it is important for educators to teach their students to respect differences. Respecting differences will lead to a non restrictive learning environment.

The Snow Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Snow Day won the Caldecott medal for capturing all the wonders of the first snow fall. This book is about a young boy named Peter who can not wait to go play in the new snow. Peter made snowmen, snow angles, tracks, tried to play with the big boys in a snow ball fight and played with his friends. Also, these illustrations seemed to be made out of construction paper, stamps of snowflakes. Personally, I would use this book in my classroom during the winter season. The Snow Day can show children all the wonderful activities they can do outside in the winter weather.

Help! A story of friendship By Holly Keller

Help! is about a group of friends including a mouse, hedgehog, rabbit, squirrel and snake. One day Mouse herd a rumor that snakes are dangerous and are especially dangerous to mice. Mouse was so worried that he would run into Snake that he was not paying attention and fell down a hole. All of his friends tried to help him out of the hole but no one was successful; the only friend left to help was snake. In the end, Snake saved Mouse and Mouse apologized for listening to the rumors. This book is unique because it uses the space on pages differently. The pages were divided into section and each section had a different action. Also, some pictures were placed sideways thus, readers have to turn the pages sideways to see the pictures. I feel as though this would be a great book for younger children to learn about friendship. Children usually face the problem of rumors and how to keep friendships so this is a great book to show how to resolve these problems.

The Ant Bully by John Nickle

The Ant Bully uses pop art and includes unique boarders on each page. These colorful illustrations seemed very realistic and brought the story alive. This book is about a young boy named Lucas who gets bullied by a boy named Sid. Lucas takes his frustrations out on an ant hill by his house. One day the ants decided to retaliate. Accordingly, the Ant wizard shrinks him into ant size. The ant colony then made Lucas do ant jobs and his final task was to get they queen ant jelly bean. Thus, Lucas and his two ant friends go to Lucas’s house to look for a jelly bean. In the end Lucas saved their lives because his father almost killed them. In the end Lucas was turned into his normal size and no longer bullied the ants. Lucas learned many new aspects from the ant colony such as friendship, working together with a team and to be nice to all living things. I believe The Ant Bully would be a great book to use in the classroom because respect is a main concept in this book. Ant Bully uses a creative new way to discusses bullying and its negative affects. Additionally, I believe respect is a very important aspect to include in the classroom so a least restrictive environment is created.

PINKY and REX by James Howe

Pinky and Rex is a beginner chapter book. This series is about a young boy named Pinky and his friend, and neighbor, a young girl named Rex. These two friends are so close both in location and regarding their friendship that they have conversations through their windows. They visit each other daily and view Pinky’s stuffed animal collection and Rex’s dinosaur collection. One day Pinky, Rex and Pinky’s younger sister Amanda go to visit the museum. At the end of their visit they all visit the gift shop. In the gift shop Pinky, Rex and Amanda all want the same pink dinosaur. In the end, these three children come to a solution by all putting their money together and decided to share the animal. Personally, I enjoyed the moral of this story. Not only do the characters not fit into stereotypical gender roles, they also use problem solving skills to create a solution to their problems. As educators I believe it is important to teach students about respect and about critical thinking skills. Respecting others creates a safe and comfortable learning environment where all students can benefit from learning.

PINKY and REX and the perfect pumpkin by James Howe

This chapter book is about how Pinky’s cousin, Abby, and their grandparents come to visit to complete a family tradition. Every year Pinky’s grandparents take Pinky, Amanda, Abby, and Pinky’s cousin to a pumpkin patch to select a pumpkin. Although Rex has gone with Pinky and his family many years before, this year feels different for Rex. Rex felt left out when the children went pumpkin picking. After the pumpkin was picked and carved Rex overhears Abby saying that she did not want Rex to be in the ‘traditional picture’ this year because she is not part of the family. Consequently, Abby and Rex get into a fight. Later that day, Abby and Rex apologize to each other and their tradition of pumpkin picking remains a “family” event. I believe that the moral of this story is that no family is perfect and friends can be considered to be family. I believe it is important for educators teach their students about the diverse family structures in society. No family structure has the same traditions or structure thus, students should learn to respect differences.

PINKY and REX and the mean old witch By James Howe

Pinky, Rex and Amanda were playing monkey in the middle one day when their ball went into their neighbor’s yard. Pinky and Rex’s next door neighbor was an older lady who did not like children playing in her yard. Accordingly, the older lady yelled at them to get out of her yard. These children did not like being yelled at so they gave the older lady a nickname, “the mean old witch”. Since the group of children felt hurt by the old ladies mean gesture they decide to do a reciprocal mean act. Pinky was going to put goopey goo in his neighbor’s mail box but he looked into her window and noticed she was sad and looked lonely. Consequently, Pinky could not follow through with the mean act and had a talk with his dad. While talking to his dad, Pinky found out that the older lady’s husband had died. Pinky’s dad explained that maybe she forgot how to love. Pinky then decided to give his neighbor homemade cookies and that started the beginning of a great relationship between him and his neighbor. Although I have never had mean neighbors, this book sends a great message. This book sends the message that everything is not as it seems. Everyone has different life experiences that shape their personal identity. An important aspect that educators need to teach children is to dig below the surface value when learning about concepts. Children should read, analysis, and synthesis the material they read and learn.

PINKY and REX and the New Neighbors By James Howe

Mrs. Morgan, Pinky and Rex’s elderly friend is moving from the neighborhood. These two friends were very sad because Mrs. Morgan would always give them cookies and lemonade. Although Pinky and Rex was sad that Mrs. Morgan had moved, they were happy to know that Mrs. Morgan enjoyed her new home and planed on visiting her. On the other hand, Pinky was nervous that Rex would forget about him when the new neighbor came. In the end a younger girl who was the same age as Amanda moved in thus, Pinky and Rex stated best friends. I believe that this book sent the message that whenever one door closes another one opens. Throughout life, children will face many changes and be presented with many opportunities. I believe it is important that educators be role models and maintain a positive outlook while working.

PINKY and REX and the Just Right Pet By James Howe

During a family meeting, Pinky discovers that they will be getting a family pet. Although Pinky wants a dog, he gets outvoted and the family wants a cat. That day his sister picked out the cat and named it patches. Although Pinky wanted a dog, he begins to have a change of heart when the kitten comes to play with him and sleeps in his bed at night. After that night, Pinky becomes responsible and feeds the kitten and makes a play area for the cat. This book sends the message to not judge others based their appearance or previous misconceptions. Personally, I am a dog lover but I am sure if a kitten became a new member of my family, I would have a change of heart too.

Totally Joe By James Howe

This book follows a character from The Misfits named Joe. As previously learned from the Misfits, Joe is original spunky character who identifies himself as a gay man. During this book, Joe is told to write a “alphabiography” which examines his life through an alphabetic story. By the end of his assignment, Joe has written everything down and discovers that he is truly happy with who he is as an individual. Some individuals might consider this book to be controversial. On the other hand, I believe that this is a great novel that represents diversity. I also feel that teacher should incorporate an “alphabiography” in their own classroom. As a teacher, I would love to incopreate this assignment in the curriculum. This assignment will allow students to learn about themselves. Additionally, if the students feel comfortable they could share their work with their peers.