Old Yeller is one of my favorite books of all time. Being a kid who grew up on a farm and had a dog (black lab named Belle) I too can relate to this story. I had to read this again this week because my childhood best friend and companion died my freshman year of college and I miss Belle. She was a great dog, a great hunting companion and someone who never gave me any guff... ha ha. Fred Gipson has a way of really showing you a great picture of what a boy has to do to be a man when is father is gone. I know this is cliche but in the time this book was written this is what happened. Travis the main character has to grow up fast when his father takes the cattle on a drive. The illustrations are some of my favorite in any book I have ever read. I like them because they are not on every page but they do depict a lot of the scenes you hope there are pictures for. They are all in black and white and they look almost like they are drawn in pencil. It fits the timeline of the book and fits the book to a T.

This is another great book by Gary Paulsen. After reading Brian's Winter I just had to go back and read Hatchet. It is such a great tale of survival and courage from a young boy. All he has to survive is a survival pack from the plane he went down on and his hatchet. It is a struggle to survive until somebody finds him. the whole book you are just hoping he gets to come home. This is a must read for any outdoors lovers. If you like books about a struggle that is won or a boy who never gives up you should read this book.

This is a great book by Ralph Fletcher. He tells a fantastic story about how the Sandman came to be. The tale goes alone on a great journey with a tiny little man named Tor. He finds a dragon scale and figures out that it makes people sleepy. Kids will fall in love with the illustrations and the writing of this book. The pictures almost take you to the far away lands with dragons and fields of green. This book is a fun and enjoyable read.

The magic shcool bus books are all great. They do such a good job of explaining difficult subjects and making them understandable for students of all ages. With Ms. Frizzel who wouldn't have fun? This book has so much info and side stories that you could spend hours really diving into it. I reccomend all of the magic school bus books because they are all education and fun somthing kids don't get enough of today.

A Giraffe on the Moon

This is one of my favorite picture books I have seen in a while. I like the whole plot of the story. It is very simple so all ages of readers would enjoy it. I also like how ridiculous the images are. There is only one image per page but with images of giraffes on moons and clowns in cakes and cats in balloon's you can only image the fun you will have when you read this book. I like a book like this because it would be a great starter for a writers workshop or something along those lines.

This book is a ghost story. I liked it because it was not a traditional ghost story that was trying to be creepy. It had a funny side plot with a dog carrying one of old man Greebe's bones to all ends of the earth. The story itself is really about the bone that goes missing which causes the haunting of Nicholas Greebe. it is a light story with cute poems from a ghost. It is a fun read with some great pictures. Old man Greebe is a pretty funny looking character too.

Plantzilla is a great book with one of the most unique styles of writing I have seen. The whole book is about a student who takes the class plant home over summer vacation. I love the way the story is told. It is told in letters written from the teacher to the student, student to teacher and teacher to parents. I love the letters because not one is like the other. Some are in cursive and some are messy etc. The plant itself is pretty cool too. It eats meat, hot dogs and goes to the gym. This is a fun read that will be enjoyed in a classroom.