All I have to say is the last forty or so pages had me on the edge of my seat and if I did I don't remember breathing. This book was great because it gives you a child's view of the end of WWII. I can not imagine growing up in a world torn apart by war and thank god every day that it didn't happen to me. I was so sucked in when the author would describe people especially the grandfather. When he is siting under the tree 10 year old Sookan describes in detail what her grandfather looks like, from his skinny legs to the wrinkles on his face. I could really picture the characters in the book. When she described the blue eyes of the Russian soldiers its like the eyes popped out of the book and hit me in the face. All of the struggles that little Sookan had to endure it felt like I was there with her from her troubles at the Japanese school to her long journey south. I was hoping and praying that her and her little brother made it there safely near the end of the book. One thing I noticed was it took a while to get hooked into the book but once I did the book was over, the pages flew by. I would recommend this book because it depicts horrors of a war from a child's point of view and although some of the references might be touchy subjects in school they are things that happen all over the world today and are issues that probably should be taught about in school. This book is a great segway to topics like human rights and children's rights. Good book By the author Sook Nyul Choi.

This is a cute story of a boy who writes letters to is baby sister in hopes "one day she might like to read them". Sarah Sullivan put together this book. The letters are neat because in the book it looks like the letter is actually on the page. The book is so well put together and resembles a scrap book of the babies younger years. I love it because some of the letters are funny, some are angry and some are just off the wall like when he tells his sister "this is not a happy letter, it is one to tell you never to touch my stuff!" On the page is a picture of his action figure with its head broken off. I recommend this book to all big brothers who have a younger sister because being one of those myself, many things in this book hit really close to home. I almost want to buy a copy and give it to my sister. Think she would like it?

This book has some of the coolest illustrations I have ever seen in a children's book. P.J. Lynch is the artist behind these drawings and you should definitely check out his work on the web. The book comes with a CD ROM of P.J. in action making the book come to life. I thought overall the pictures saved the book. I didn't really get wrapped up in the story and it was a LONG story. I felt like I was reading a chapter book. After a while I just felt like turning the page to look at another picture. Like I said it seemed long for a picture book but it was refreshing to see a different style of book than every other one on the shelf for a change. P.J. Lynch is an artist that I will follow now for sure. If you read this let me know what you think.

This book was extremely interesting. From the water color paintings to the unique setting, it really is top notch. It depicts young Manyoni, a girl from Zimbabwe, as she makes here long journey to school. This book is kind of a whats-what of Zimbabwe too. The author actually took drawing paper and sketched most of the scenes we see in the book. All of the animals in the book are live sketches except the leopard. It is an amazing book when you think about how true it is. It is not uncommon for kids like Manyoni to travel upwards of two hours to go to school everyday! This book is also very cool because it used many words that come from Zimbabwe and in the back of the book it tells what each one of them means. Books like these really expand a persons knowledge of the world and when I make lists of books I want for my classroom this one will be on there. Check it out!

This book was awesome. I really liked how Nina illustrated the book/used real pictures to tell the story. The use of real pictures is something I really haven't seen in children's books a lot but it really worked well. It was neat to see what Jack (the boy in the story) was imagining based on the real life picture. If there was a bigger plot behind the words there was a light overlay of another real picture over the photo and that was a neat touch as well. I think this book kind of reinvents the picture book in a way and Nina has a good handle on what could be a neat twist on an old tradition. I would like to read other stories with this same kind of theme in them because they are fun not only to read but to look at. You can spend so much time looking at all of the little details in the picture. I looked at this book for a good thirty minutes before I was done. It was a really fun read.

There were not a ton of words in this book but it still tells a common story. Its Illustrates the frustrations of being a younger brother. I was the younger brother in my family and I always wanted to do what my older brother would do but I was either too young or too small. I love it when stories give power to the younger sibling like Martha did in the Blackboard Bear. Th pictures worked great with the story and almost told the story better than the words. the detail in the faces and body language was awesome in this book. It also goes to show what you can do with your imagination and how fun using it can be.

Crash is a very likable story. It stars an all-star Jr. High Tailback by the name of John "Crash" Coogen. I like this story because it is about change and friendships. When Crash finally realizes what a friend really is, a person who no matter what always loves you and respects you no matter what you do. This story has some unlikely plots for a "sports" book. It is more about family, understanding and a desire to be who it is you really are (if that makes any sense). It is a good read and one that will probably go fast. I could not put the book down every time Jerry Spinelli talks about Penn Webb and his "weird" lifestyle, parents or mannerisms. Jerry Spinelli is a Newberry Medalist author and knows how to keep you in a book. This book really makes me want to read more of his stuff.

Controversial Book

This Book is hilarious not controversial. I don't know one elementary student who wouldn't laugh at the word FART let alone a farting dog. I was not a fan of the art though. I think they could have done so much more with the illustrations, but again that is my opinion. I thought the pictures were actually down right scary. If farts are a controversial topic then what is this country coming to? Two farts up for the story. Two farts down for the pictures.

Controversial Book

Well I guess Babette Cole likes to get herself on the controversial books list huh? This book by her is simply controversial because of the topic of puberty. This is a story I would probably let my children read to get a better idea of what puberty is. They will understand it and it is a tough topic to talk about with kids and Babette Cole does a good job of using humor to deal with it. The illustrations of Mr. and Mrs. Hormone are hilarious. the pictures are funny and entertaining along with the story. I don't really see this book as controversial, just natural.

Controversial Book

Well this book is controversial. to me i get the idea that the children want their parents to be happy but at the same time saying the parents should get "divorced" or un-married probably doesn't sit well with a 70% Christian country. I think showing children benefiting from their parents getting un-married is probably not a very good thing either. I don't know if children in that position would agree it was all fun and games when it happened to them. I am torn on this one because it results in the parents being happy and the kids being happy, so I can see why you would want to share it. The pictures are too funny tho! Just loved them.

Controversial Book

I am not really sure why this is a controversial book. It is really just celebrating every thing that is BOY! But because it is labeled as such I will dig to find some things that could be construed as controversial. One thing people might see is the illustrations as exaggerations of African-American features such as big lips, and nappy hair (funny because the also the author of Happy to be Nappy). Another reason may be the strange construction of language in the book resulting in some people connecting bad language to the African-American culture. I found this book a refreshing step away from the norm and a book who's words tell the story as good if not better than its words. But I guess if you split hairs it could be offensive.... pick your battles people.

Controversial Book

I can see how this book could be viewed as controversial. Because it is written in a child's point of view there are tones and language that are racist and demeaning to African-Americans, and they are kind of thrown around in the book. On the other hand living in the world I grew up in I can pick all of those things out and see the injustices that many African-Americans were treated with. So in a way it may be good to read TO children so you can talk through some of those injustices but maybe not a good book for young elementary aged students to read by themselves.

Links Galor! Take A Look At My Favorite Author

This is a link to Gary Pulsen's web page. One of my favorites you can learn a lot about him as a person too!http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/index.html

The Misfits: Part II

Wow! I was surprised that Collin liked Joe too. I saw that going a totally different way in my head and cannot believe it worked out. I felt so much pride about the things Bobby was able to accomplish too. He finally found his niche in his job and started a new relationship with Mr. Kellerman. He set new groundwork for the relationship with his father and he really found out who he really was. I thought the process of Bobby finding himself in the last 100 or so pages really sums up why this book is important. You can go through life so long before you find out who you really are and once you do you turn that leaf and really start to live your life. Howe accomplishes this without it being an overwhelming ordeal. In a way we all go through this "growing pain" so to speak where we don't really know who we are and why we are on this earth. I think Addie was in this book to really help the people who read it to questions everything. Learn out why you feel the way you do and why you act the way you do. It is kind of the lesson I learned from this book, and in a way we are all "misfits" and like Bobby we do finally find ourselves in the end.... at least we can only hope we do.

Part I: 1-142

It is wierd, I find myself so different from the Skeez, Bobby, Addie and Joe but at the same time there are parts of me who feel like I am them. Who hasn't been mistreated or seen others mistreated or even been the one doing the mistreating? All of the names those four have been called I have said, have heard or have been called and that is sad. I found myself judging each of the charaters in the book before I really knew them. Like Bobby found out, is this really what it is like to know somebody? Bobby also said somthing else that really struck me. On page 46 "..thinking of somebody as 100% human seriously gets in the way of hating them." I found that passage so powerful. When you don't know somebody or you find yourself judging them do you really know them or are you just lableing them so that they fit into your "catagories" and make your life easier. I know one thing for sure, getting to really know somebody and learning to care for them does make it really hard to hate them. I am excited to see where the book turns next. And why is Ms. Wyman such a BITCH!?

This book was very different than any book I have ever read. Not in a bad way but... just different. It had kind of a Alice in wonderland feel mixed with a Cat in the Hat type of mischief. The illustrations really were pleasing to the eye and very life like. Ted in this story is the imaginary friend and looks like a big fat pink dog... I think. He almost comes off as scary but I guess looks can be deceiving. I found it odd that no mother was ever depicted in this book especially because the author dedicated it to his mother and father. Weird. overall it was a silly book but a light read and a fun one. The illustrations alone could keep you occupied for a good half hour. It was about halfway up my scale of coolness.

First off, the pictures in this book are done by Boris Kulikov and they are out of this world. I love the different angles that he gives the reader, there are times when the reader can look at the illustrations and feel like an ant in the grass watching this story unfold. I am not sure what type of art this is but the pictures are truly amazing. There is also a picture of a lizard on every page of the book, even the cover. I found myself looking for the lizard every time I turned the page, even before I started reading! I found this "side story" very effective. The story itself was funny and cleaver but the lizard kind of tells one by itself. The book is light hearted and used some funny rhymes by three brothers. This is just a good 'ol fashioned fun read.

This is one of the first non-fiction books I have blogged about so far. I found this book to be very factual in the textual information but the illustrations tell a different story. All of the "Native People" in this book,(Include all of the following: Native Americans, Aztec's and Mayans), are wearing some sort of feathers on their head. I think this is a silly misconception that all "Native People" of this land (and Mexico) wore head dresses comprised of feathers. This book definitely plays into the easy stereotyping of Native Americans and other cultures such as the Aztec and Mayans. There are also some inaccurate depictions of farming practices through the illustrations in the book. Growing up on a farm this may bother me more than the average person but the pictures in a book tell a story too and in this book they are not entirely correct. I would definitely use this book for factual knowledge because it is quite accurate from what I can tell, but I would be sure to explain some of the pictures to children if I ever read it to them.

This light hearted story is a continuation of the famous fairy tale of Humpty Dumpty. The author Dave Horowitz takes us through the rough life of post nursery rhyme life for Mr. Dumpty. I was not a big fan of the actual story because he just kind of threw other nursery rhymes into the story with little or no meaning attached. Although I did not enjoy the story, I did really love the illustrations. They had a individual quality to them that I have not seen in another story book before. I like how the illustrator Incorporated talking bubbles into the pictures. I had more fun looking through the book a few times then I did reading the actual book. It does give you a reminder of other books like The Real Story Of The Three Little Pigs and makes you really think about lessons you could do with your class in terms of writing stories based off of popular stories. I think that would be something kids could really have a lot of fun with.

This book has very few words but what it does not say on the page it makes up for in its drawings. The pictures in the book are just outstanding. What is real is drawn in black and what is imagined by the character is drawn in blue. The drawings are a simple sketch but it fits with the book and the whole stick idea. The author Antoinette Portis uses earth tones on the pages to fit the whole wood, stick idea too and it really does work with the blues she puts in the book. I like the simplicity and complexity of this book. ( I read it five times) The best thing about the book is it really inspires imagination. I think in school today we cut children off from being dreamers to make a more efficient system and this book gets back to the idea of play before critical thinking... and of course I like that idea.