Tuesday, March 13, 2012


 
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

Author and Illustrator: Adam Rex
© 2006 Houghton Mufflin Harcourt
40 Pages
Fantasy

            This book is all about fantasy. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich is a collection of fantasy poems. The first poem talks about Frankenstein and how the people around him do not like when he comes out of his house. He wants to go buy things to make a sandwich from but he can’t because he is scaring everyone. He walks back home and the people start throwing things to make a sandwich with at poor Frankenstein. He is overjoyed and believes those people were very polite.
            The illustrations are unique for every poem in the book. The illustrations look like they have been painted with oils.
            This book can be used in a kindergarten to third grade class. The teacher could read the poems to the class and have the students reflect on each poem’s theme in reading. The teacher could also use this book to teach poetry, as well as when talking about different genres.
This book has not won any awards, but the author has written the book Three Ring Circus.



A message from the author, Adam Rex.



 Puff the Magic Dragon
Peter Yarrow & Lenny Lipton
Illustrated by: Eric Puybaret
©2007 Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
24 Pages
Fantasy

            Puff the Magic Dragon was originally a song of the 1960’s. The magical words of the song can now capture the hearts of children. The words and the illustrations bring the reader in a world of dragons and magic. Puff is a magic dragon that frolics by the sea. He is the favorite toy of Jackie Paper. This book makes you lose your thinking as an adult and makes you think like a child again.
            The illustrations are painted in acrylic on linen cloth. The illustrations really bring the words to life and cover the entire page of the book. The pictures seem to almost stand off the page and come to life.
            Puff the Magic Dragon is more for a younger audience of kindergarten and first grade when children love dragons, castles, and magic. The teacher could use this book when introducing fantasy and poetry genres. The teacher could use this book in writing to have the students come up with their own magical story and promote their imagination.
            This book has not won any awards.


"Puff the Magic Dragon" children's song. 








 Substitute Creacher

Author & Illustrator: Chris Hall
©2011 Little, Brown and Company
32 pages
Fantasy

            This book was created with a moral behind it: Don’t disobey or be sneaky or you could be cursed. The book begins with a rowdy group of students. The teacher is gone for the day so they know they will have a substitute teacher. In the room walks a monster instead of a substitute teacher. The children are alarmed to see this. The creacher tells them that he is there to tell them about what could happen to them if they keep misbehaving.  He shows mug shots of children that have misbehaved. He tells of a student that had a really messy desk. Inside the desk an earthquake began and tore down the entire school.  A boy ate so much glue things stuck to him all the time and he couldn’t get anything off. The last student scared everyone on Halloween to get their candy. The boy always stole their candy as they ran away. The boy stole candy from what he didn’t know was a magical gnome. The boy turned into his scary Halloween costume. Mr. Creacher tells the class that it was him that did that many years ago and he is now cursed by the gnome.
            The illustrations really set the mood of the story. The story is told using cartoon like drawings and comics, complete with dialogue boxes between the characters. The picture looks to me to be painted with oils.
            The book is wonderful to use with younger grades like first to third grade. The teacher can use the book for character education when talking about self control. The teacher can also use this book to use for a writing prompt. The teacher can also teach about the text feature of dialogue boxes from the book.
            This book has not won any awards.


                           
The Legend of the Three Trees
Text by: Thomas Nelson ©2001
Illustrations ©2007 Dahl Taylor
24 pages
Traditional Literature

            This story has been written many times as it has been passed down to new generations. There are three trees that begin the story. When the pine, oak, and olive tree are cut down, they just know they will be used to do important things. The olive tree believes it will become a treasure chest, but instead becomes a manger for cows and horses to eat from. The oak becomes a boat even thought it has dreamed of becoming a ship that carries a King. The pine becomes a cross. What these trees don’t know is they have become something more important than could ever be made. They all were even more than what they expected, they all held Jesus.
            The illustrations are in oil and pencil. The illustrations cover all the negative space and bring the words to life. The pictures really make the story understandable to children.
            The book would be best to use in an upper elementary classroom like third through sixth grade. This book could be used to introduce the character education word of patience. This could also be used in Science when studying about trees and what types of trees things are made from.
            This book has not won any awards.


The Three Pigs 
David Wiesner
©2001 Clarion Books
26 Pages
Traditional Literature

            In this twist on the famous Three Little Pigs story, the author starts with telling the classic story. The author then has the pigs jump out of the story to go into another world. The pigs find themselves in other classic stories. They rescue the cat and the fiddle and a dragon. The pigs fold the page and make a paper airplane to travel to other stories. This funny twist on the classic story is sure to capture the attention of the reader.
            The illustrations are in watercolor, gouache, colored inks, pencil, and colored pencil. The illustrations cover the page when telling the story that every reader is familiar with. When telling when the pigs escape into another story to rescue, there is a lot of negative space used.
            This book would best be used in younger grades like kindergarten through second grade. The students have all heard the class story of the Three Little Pigs so this twist on the story would get their brains to start thinking out of the box. The book would be wonderful to use as a writing prompt. The students could put their own twist on another classic story. The teacher could also use the book to teach students about different types of genres of books.
            This book won the 2002 Caldecott Award.  The author is famous for his book Tuesday.







The Loin and the Mouse
                                                                            Jerry Pinkney
©2009 Little, Brown and Company
33 pages
Traditional Literature

            Jerry Pinkney puts a twist on this classic tale when he tells it without words. Onomatopoeias are the only words used in this book. The little mouse, in the beginning of the story, promises to help the lion one day when he needs it. So instead of eating the mouse, the lion lets the mouse go. The little mouse goes through with its promise to the lion and helps him in a time of need. This is a great story of helping others and putting someone before yourself.
            The illustrations look like they had been drawn in pencil watercolor and colored pencil on paper. The illustrations are what make the book come to life. Without words, the pictures are the most important thing in a wordless story. The illustrations are beautiful and unique to this book.
            This book is for a younger group like kindergarten through third games. Teacher can use this book to teach about the fables and traditional literature genre. In kindergarten the teacher could use the book to look at the picture to see what a mouse or a lion looks like.
            This book won the 2011 Caldecott  award. 

Check out the author's website. Click here.

 
On the Night You Were Born 
Nancy Tillman
©2005 Feiwel & Friends
32 Pages
Poetry

            This is truly a book for all ages to read and enjoy. I remember reading the book and crying. The words seem to dance on the page like the author says the polar bears were up all night dancing for you. The spirit of this book to me shows just how special we all truly are. God made us different for a reason, but in the book all of creation rejoices because you are different from any other person on this Earth. This book specializes in telling us in free verse poetry that life would never be the same with you, the reader.
            The illustrations are painted in watercolor and oils with some collage technique. The illustrations bring to life exactly what is being said on the page. Some pages take up the entire page while some have a lot of negative space.
            This book would be enjoyed by younger grades like kindergarten through third or fourth grade. The teacher could read this book when introducing free verse poetry to students. The book could as be used for character education in the form of self-importance. The students could write their own poems about someone special in their lives or the teacher could have them write about how they are special.
            This book was awarded the 2005-2006 Mom’s Choice Award for the Best Inspirational Children’s Book.


Check out the author's website and prints by this gifted illustrator. Click here


The Spider and the Fly
Based on a Poem by: Mary Howitt
 Illustrated by: Tony Diterlizzi
©2002 Simon & Schuster
28 pages
Poetry

            This book is written in a poem form and is based on the tale by Mary Howitt, written in 1829. The spider wants to trick the fly into his home, which is a web. The spider tries to allure the fly in every way possible. The spider gives compliments and tricks the fly into thinking there will be no harm in going into the spider’s home. The fly has her guard up in the beginning of the poem then by the end her guard is down and she finds herself in the spider’s house, the web, before she knows it. The story ends with a moral to always have your guard up and never allow others to trick you into doing something you never wanted to do in the beginning.
            The illustrations are drawn in black graphite pencil and the dark color shows the reader the darkness that takes place in the story. The evilness of the spider is shown in the dark color for the reader to see what is happening to the poor fly.
            The poem could be used in any elementary classroom. In a younger classroom, the book could be used to introduce learning about spiders and flies in Science. While in an older classroom, the book could be used for character education purposes. The poem could also create a writing prompt about someone that has tricked the student to do something in their life. The students could write about that experience in a poem form of writing.
            This book won the Caldecott Honor Award in 2003. 

Watch the author's ideas behind the illustrations of this poem! 







Everything On It
Author & Illustrator: Shel Silverstein 
© Harper Collins Publishers
195 pages
Poetry

            Everything On It is the newest poetry collection from well known author Shel Silverstein. It was published after his death in 1999 out of poems that he had finished before he died. Silverstein, known for his whit in children’s poetry, does not fall short with his whit in Everything On It. The book starts out with a poem entitled, Everything On It. The boy wants a hotdog with everything on it and the hotdog is so piled high with condiments that the boy can’t even hold it, much less eat it. Silverstein’s books never have an overall theme to the collection of poetry, but they are all to be enjoyed by children of all ages.
            Shel Silverstein is known for his cartoon-like images drawn in only black ink. All of his books do not have any color to them unless it’s the cover or the dust jacket. His use of negative space makes his artwork famous.
            This collection of poems could be used in any classroom for any age. The poems make children of any age laugh. A teacher could use the poems to trigger a writing topic and the students could write one of their own ridiculous poems. The teacher could also use these poems to introduce rhyme or cause and effect. The teacher could also use his poems to introduce the genres of poetry and fantasy, because much of his work is fantasy.
            This book has not won any awards; however, the author is famous for his poetry style and has won awards for many of his other books. What many people don’t know is Shel Silverstein won a Grammy for “A Boy Named Sue,” which was performed by Johnny Cash.

                                To learn more about this author check out his website.  Click here




The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry
Edited by: Bill Martin Jr. with Micheal Sampson
Illustrations by: Steven Kellogg, Lois Ehlert, Chris Raschka
©2008 Simon & Schuster
171 Pages

            This book is a collection of poetry from famous poets. The poems were collected by Bill Martin Jr., the author of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and his editor Micheal Sampson. The book was not released until after Bill Martin Jr.’s death, so the book opens with a foreword from Eric Carle and a dedication to Martin’s memory. This collection of poems is arranged into the following categories: Animals, World of Nature, Around the Year, People and Places, School Time, Me and My Feelings, Family and Home, Food for Me, Nonsense, and Mother Goose. Some of the most famous authors of poetry are included in this work. They include: Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Robert Louis Stevenson, and many more.
           
            The illustrations are unique to each poem. Some famous illustrators have contributed to this book to really make the collection come to life. Some of them include: Steven Kellogg, Lois Ehlert, and Chris Raschka. Some of the illustrations use watercolor and ink and there are some that use collage. I would have to say that any medium that an illustrator has ever used is used to illustrate this collection of poems. The individual art for each poem really shows just how different each poem is. The illustrations really make this book interesting and appealing for students.

            This collection of poetry would appeal to students of any elementary age. Some of the poems are easy to read and comprehend while some are hard to comprehend. The pictures would definitely help a younger audience comprehend. A teacher could use these poems when teaching syllables, rhyme, or grammar in Language Arts. A teacher could also use the Animal category to read a poem to the class when introducing a new animal to study about in Science. The teacher could also use a poem in the book to produce a writing topic.

            This book has not won any awards but the editor, Bill Martin Jr., has an award in his honor given out once a year to an outstanding children’s picture book.


Check out the story behind this book!

If you would like to know more about the author, click here