My Brother by Anthony Browne

I thought that this book was just ok. I thought it was great how the boy looked up to his older brotheras a positive rold model. To me it became repetitive and I wouldn't want to read it out loud. Also, a big part of me liking and chosing books to read is I ask myself it is something that I could read over again and this was NOT one of them. However I think a child might like to read it. I did like the end where the little brother realizes that he too is cool like his brother.

On the idea about positive role models I think that with all the media we are surronding by and celebrity images it is hard to pick unrealistic people to look up to and create an illusion of what real life is like. Family is always important and so are siblings. You look up to your older sibilig. My little brother and sister would copy just about everything I did or they want to be included in it. Today my parents tell me that my sister who is a freshman in high school still looks up to me and that I need to set a good example. Soo what I am saying is that having role models or being one is a big reasonability.

Jules le plus beau bebe du monde byKevin Henkes

I chose this book because I stumbled across it while browsing the book shevles. I have taken french since 7th grade and I went to France with my school and my parents are fluent and have a love for the language. So needless to say I was excited to find a childrens book in french and as a bonus I love Kevin Henkes books+. It is about Lili getting a new little brother Jules who she does not like but her parents love. She does everything to try and scare him but nothing works. Finally she accepts her brother. This book wouldn't be a child that is first learning french because it past future and present tense words. Some were specific to the book that I had to look up. The book says 4 + but if you are trying to teach you kid french they would probably just have to listen.

I personally thought this book was just fabulous. I think it is important for diversity. All over Europe children speak more languges than one with ease and that doesn't happen hear. I know that when I have a child I would love to put them in an immersion program or at least have them know more than just English.

The story is also very relatable to children. Families are always growing and you have to learn to accept that which can be hard when your parents are used to giving all their attention to you. We talked in class about what we think makes a good children book and across the board we said pictures and detailed ones. Let me tell you, the images in this book are just amazing. Which made me really enjoy it. The pictures would be a good way for chidlren to follow along if they aren't fully understanding the book.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
This book is intended for readers ages 9-12 but I can say well into my college years that I loved reading this book. It tells the story of two 10 year olds who form an unlikely friendship and create a secret world of their own in the woods behind their home. The story takes a sudden turn when death strikes.
I liked this book because it depicts a true friendship. It is very relatable for kids. At first Leslie is an outsider when she moves into town and Jess doesn't accept her right away. He is focused only on running and becoming the fastest kid in the 5th grade. Leslie is different from the rest of the girls. In fact at recess she runs with the boys and doesn't gossip with the rest of the girls. She actually beats Jess in a race. Soon after they become inseperable as kids do in middle school. Leslie and Jess also aren't the most popular in the school but the story shows how the two kids cope with bullies and mean teachers by going to Terabithia.
This book also inspires your imagination to run wild because the two kids create a place of their own, Terabithia, and name themselves king and queen of the land. It becomes a safe haven from the rest of the world. Every 10 year old would like to have a place like that. I know I would have.
This book also addresses religion for a moment when Leslie goes to Church for the first time. She is moved and inspired but doens't belive in the stories. However Jess and his little sister do. I bring this up because in Terabithia Leslie and Jess have a special place they go to where they talk to a made up higher being. I like this idea because it gives them something to belive in that is better than what they know.

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

This was another book that I really liked. It reminded me of the movie Happy Feet. The main idea in this book is that it is ok to be different through lovable penguin characters. It shows how Tacky, the penguin who is different, is accepted by him fellow penguins one day even though it wasn't always easy. I think it also shows the other side where the penguin who were not accepting him should have all along because even though he was different looking, he was just like them.

The plot of the book is that Tacky is different from all the penguin's around him. He has different manners and dresses differently. The other penguin's think Tacky can be annoying but then one day he becomes the hero when he saves the penguins from some unwanted visitors.

This book takes a goofy approach to learning about acceptance by using a penguin like Tacky and that is why I enjoyed it. I like when you can use humor to teach a serious lesson because I think it helps get the point across even more. It also gives me creative ideas about how to teach acceptance with this book and how you can learn about the little creatures in the story!

I think that this book is appropiate for k-2. Pages have no more than 4 lines a page and it is wrtten very well. The author uses capital words in the story to show yelling which is something that stood out to me because I don't see that very often with picture books.

This is a very cute book that I would like to have on my shelves in my classroom if I taught the correct age.

The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco

This book is very different from what you normally think a picture book is which is why I chose it even though I am still not sure how I feel about it. When I first saw the cover and the title I was shocked about what was actually inside. This book is for upper elementary and it shows how picture books can still be age appropiate for 5th graders. It also deals with a very hard topic, cancer. As far as I know there aren't too many books like this one so I am glad I found it as a resource for other people. In this book one of the girls get leukemia and has to undergo chemo. I liked this book because it shows how different people deal with the difficult issue. It shows how hard it is for Marilyn (the girl who gets cancer) her best friend, her class, and her teacher. This provides a good tool for kids who might be going through the same thing because they can see how people are affected differently. This book also demonstrates the idea of strength and friendship, both of which are important when going through any hard time.

I am not sure if this is a book that I would use in the classroom unless is was necessary and I was teaching older children. But like I said I think it is a good resource to have. Also I like the pictures a lot in this book and colors of it because they seem to go very well with the tone and mood of the book and topic at hand. It is one that I could read more than once which is important to me. It doesn't paint the "romantic" idea we have of children because death is not part of that. It shows little girls and all that they do.

I came back to this post to see if I could figure this book out and how I felt about it more but I am not sure. I touched on the idea of role models in another post and in this book, the girls look up to their teacher more than anything. This reminds me that I will be that person that chidlren look up to soon and I will most likely have to deal with hard issues. This might be in my classroom or what happens outside of it.

Ming Lo Moves the Mountain by Arnold Lobel

I loved this book for many reasons but first because it had a very defiend central problem. The reason I like some books like that for schools is because it makes for a great way to bring the class actively into a book. In Ming Lo, the man and the woman have a problem in which their house is located next to a mountain. This mountain is a problem because it always has clouds and rain around it and the falling rocks are destroying Ming Lo's house. So Ming Lo goes to the wiseman to ask for help because he doesn' t know how a small man like himself could move such a big mountain. The wiseman gives them several ideas that don't work, and one that finally does.

When I think about this book there are so many ways I could bring this book into the class. First of all, I have used this book in another class where we did story drama. This ia type of lesson in which the whole class becomes involved in solving a problem together and the solution ultimately is discovered after reading the book. It is great for having all the students involved 100% of the time. Secondly, like I said there is clearly a main problem. Having students work together to think of various solutions for this situation is a good way for children to work on their problem solving skills. Also, I could see this book being tied into a creative writing lesson, a geography lesson, or possibly even a math lesson where they are working on measuring distances.

Another thing that I like abou tthis book is that if you wanted to keep in mind diversity, it is good for that. It shows what I believe might be an Asian culture and you can see their different homes, ways of dressing, and how they go about their everyday life. That could also be a way to use this book in the classroom. Over all I think it is a great book that I will be using in my classrooms.

Owen by Kevin Henkes

Owen is great first of all because it is a story about a boy and a lot of books have girls as their main characters. It also would relate to a child very well because it is about Owen who is about to go to school but cannot bring his blanket with him even though he never has gone anywhere without it. This would be a good book for the beginning of the school year for kindergarteners. I could see myself erading it and opening up a discussion about what it is like for everyone to start school all by themselves. It could turn into a whole first week get to know each other project with a lot of activities that relate to Owen. Also, this would be a fantastic book for parents to read to their children at home when they are going through a similar stage.

Another thing I really liked is the Owen as a character. He is sort of silly and does things that a kid might do to outwit his parents so he can keep his blanket. Just like Sheila Rae the Brave, this shows Owen being brave by giving up his blanket. It also shows how mom knows whats best to do to make everyone happy in the end.

Sheila Rae The Brave by Kevin Henkes

This book was one that I remembered from when I was little so I was excited to read it again. Sheila Rae, the main character, is a little mouse who is not scared of anything until one day she gets lost. Then the brave little mouse must remember how to be brave again and she realizes that it's ok to ask for help and the help even comes from her "scaredy-cat" little sister.

I think this book is a fabulous book for young readers (3-8). It has great illistrations and I enjoyed the way it was written. I also think that it has a good message for the readers. It shows children to be strong, especially girls since the main character is a girl. It also shows a family in a positive light because in this story it just so happens that the little sister Louise is the one that saves the day and gets Sheila Rae back home safely. I would recommend this book for parents and teachers. It also can come with a fun CD for your computer which is fun because it changes up how the kids read. They can hear it out loud and they can play games with the characters from the book as well.