So Far From the Bamboo Grove By: Yoko Kawashima Watkins

So Far From the Bamboo Grove is a very neat story. I had some trouble at first getting my mind set around the right time period of the book. After I read the first couple of chapter I was able to picture the time period more and I was able to create a better mental image of the characters that had been introduced. One great aspects about the story is that it is told from the view point of a Japanese girl that is dealing with many aspects of World War II that any girl her age would have a very difficult time dealing with. Some of the harsh things that the characters such as Yoko had to deal are very hard for me to imagine. I felt a lot of sympathy for Yoko through the whole book. The many crazy situations that she encounters makes her a very strong and smart individual which I gained a lot of respect for as I read the book. The main theme that I gathered from this book was family. Family played a large role in this book. Family is what kept everyone together through all of their hardships. The family had to pull together for survival. I have some heard some debate about whether or not this book should be in classroom. There are people who believe that this book is too harsh from children and other people who think that students will create wrongful images about Korean and Japan. I think this is a great book to have in a classroom. It has a great story and I think the author is very honest and expresses her thoughts with a lot of heart through the whole book. This is a book that I would read again and a book that I would want in my classroom.

I'm Gonna Like Me By: Jamie Lee Curtis

I think this is a book for people of all ages. Even is a child does not know how to read yet I think they will be able to gain a lot about the story by just looking at the pictures. It could also be a very good book for an adult who is going through a rough time in their life. The book is about self-esteem. I like how the book does not sugar coat the ideas about self-esteem. It explains that everyone is human, and everyone is going to have a rough day every once in awhile. The book follows a little boy and a little girl through their whole day starting from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed. The fact that there is a boy and girl used in the story I think is really neat. The rhyming and the energy that is in the book gives the reader a good vibe and personally really made me feel good about myself when I was finished reading.

Grandpappy Sniappy Snappies

This is a newer book that I really enjoyed. The pictures have a lot going on most of the time, but they really help explain what the text is saying. The text is a standard font, but the way in which the words are written on the text is what makes the book really fun to read. For example, the words read "Snippy snappy up with the words going up. Snippy snappy down and the the words going downward. Snippy snappy smile with the words in a curve like a smile, and so on. Not only do the words look really neat on the page, but it helps creates a picture on the mind of the reader. The story is has a lot of humor and kept a smile om my face the whole time. I would love to do this book as a read aloud in my classroom.

Karate Hour By: Carol Nevius

This book is awesome. It has a great story to go along with wonderful pictures. The pictures are are so neat. They look like they are going to pop out of the book. They are almost like 3-D. Also many of the pictures are in black and white, but just have one thing in color such as the karate belts which are very cool. Many times in the pictures it a close up of a foot or something like that, but when there is a picture of a face the face look very real. I also like how the words in the book rhyme. The rhyming fits well with this book and helps to story flow very well. The pictures are definitely the highlight of this book, but the rhyming words also add a nice touch to the book.

Louise the Big Cheese and the La- Di-Da Shoes By: Elise Primavera

This is a cute book about a young girl who sees a pair of shoes that she wants. She tells her mom that she wants and she also tells her best friend. Her mom will not let her get the shoes and her best friend ends up getting the shoes for herself. I am going to admit that the reason why I picked up this book was because of its cover. The title of the book is written in big pink letters that are very sparkly. The pictures in the book are very detailed and real life. I like how there are conversation that that take amongst the characters on many of the pages. The only thong I did not like about this book was that I thought it drug on. I think the point of the story could have been made just as clear with the story not being so long. There were times when I wanted to skip some pages, so that I could get through it. Overall, I thought book was cute and has a great cover page, but drug on.

The Cow that Laid and Egg By: Andy Cutbill.

This is a very cute story about a cow who laid an egg that turns out to be a chicken that makes cow noises. I really like the illustrations in this book. I like how they look like they are simple drawings that have been colored in. Majorie is the cow in the story and really loved her character. She is so innocent and so determined to prove to all of the other animals of the farm that she could lay an egg. I like how when there is a part in the story that the author really wants to emphasize he show it through the by making it really big, so that the read knows to speak loudly. My all time favorite parts about this book is right after the chicken is hatched it lets out a loud MOOOO! I thought this was a very cute and funny book.

Notes From the Dog By: Gary Paulsen

I loved this book. It is one of the books that makes you cry and smile. This book was definitely sad, but I think Paulsen did such a great job incorporating humor and knowledge of each character that through the sadness there was also joy. This book about a young boy taking care of a friend who is breast cancer is very inspiring. I like all of the emotions that were brought through in this book. I really enjoyed Finn, the main character of this book. He has a total sweet heart that has a lot of insecurities. I highly recommend this story to middle school students and to anyone who is simply looking for a great story about life!

Mudshark By: Gary Paulsen

This is another one of Paulsen's book that is not much like Hatchet, but more like Lawn Boy. It is a quick read with a touch of humor added to it. Many times you read books about kids who are smart, good at sports, funny, etc., but this book is different. It is about a boy who has the ability to find anything that missing. All of the characters are really upbeat and colorful. One of the things that I really like about this book is the authors announcements to start off each chapter. I think this a great book for people of all ages. I think this would be a really fun for book to read aloud to the class.

How Angel Peterson Got His Name By: Gary Paulsen

This was a different type of book than I have ever read by Gary Paulsen. This book is about a memoir of the stunts that Gary Paulsen and his friends would do in to entertain themselves when he liven in Minnesota. The book takes place in the 1950's. The book is full of hilarious stunts that Gary did with his friends, often times the stunts are dangerous as well. Since some of the stunts are dangerous I would recommend this book for students who are ages ten and older. I enjoyed reading this book because all of the stories are true, so it was very easy for me to picture all of the stories that were being told. I was able to create a pretty clear image of what I thought each of Gary's friends looked like as I read. I also liked how the book was split up into a number of different stories rather than on long story.

Lawn Boy By: Gary Paulsen

Lawn Boy is one of the shorter books that I have read by Gary Paulsen. Paulsen gets right to the point he is trying to make with this book to make it a very quick read. This books kept a smile on my face the majority of the time. There are some abstract ideas that go along with this book such as investments and stock, but some children may be very into finances. I like how the book is told from the twelve year old boys perspective. The twelve year old boy is a cute character with a very innocent out look on life. I do not think I would read this book again, but I am glad that I have read it once and I think it would be a very good book for a student who is into the aspects of money.

Brian's Winter By: Gary Paulsen

Brian's Winter is in response to Hatchet. At the end of Hatchet Brian is rescued, but many of Paulsen's readers wrote to him and requested a book about what would have happened in Brian would not have been rescued. So Paulsen decided to write Brian's Winter. Just like Hatchet this book is very suspenseful and really draws in the reader. Brain has to learn new skills such as hunting in order to survive the harsh winter. Brian's hard work and bravery at such a young age made me to continue to have strong feelings for him as a character. The tone of this book is very upbeat which makes the reading flow very well. I did not like this books as much as I like Hatchet but it was still very good. I hope to have a variety of Gray Paulsen books in classroom. I may even consider doing a unit on Gary Paulsen.

Hatchet By: Gary Paulsen

I did my author study on Gary Paulsen. I chose to do Gary Paulsen because Hatchet is one of my all time favorite chidlren's books. I like the character, Brian, that is created in this story. He shows many great characteristics that makes the reader really care about his survival. He shows, heart, bravery,intelligence and determination. I really enjoy the suspense that takes place throughout the entire book. The main suspense being the affair that his mother is having. With the affair and Brian's life at risk there is never a dull moment in this book. One of my favorite parts about this book is that symbolism that takes place such as the Hatchet. Hatchet was the first Gary Paulsen book that I read as a kid and it made me want to read many more of his books because I enjoyed it so much.

Glogster

Reflection

I have really enjoyed Children's Lit this semester. I really like having a blog where I can keep all of responses rather than having to actually have to turn something in each week. I also like how I am able to view my classmates blogs. I think the blogs will be a great resource for me when I have my own classroom. I think we have some great discussions in class that have really made me deeply think about children's' literature. I enjoyed seeing all of the genre presentations. It helped introduce me to some genres that I have not heard much about in the past. the presentations also gave me some great ideas for some book that I want to have in my classroom. The books that we have been require to read such as The Giver and The Misfits have both been great books and I hope the other books are good to. I am excited for our glogs and to read some more great children's books.

The Misfits By: James Howe (Chapters 13-End)

I continued to enjoy this book through the end. Although I enjoyed the book I had a couple of issues with the book. The first issue was the dialogue. I had difficulty following which character was saying what. I also had trouble wrapping my head around the idea of this story happening in real life. I am glad that everything worked out the way that it did, but everything working out so well, like in this book does not happen all that often. Other than those difficulties I thought the book was great. I really like some of the themes such as bullying that come through. I think there are many good themes in the book for middle school students to read about. I also think that there are many middle school students who can relate to at least one of the characters in the book. If I taught in a middle school I would definitely want this book in my classroom.

The Misfits By: James Howe (Chapters 1-13)

So far I have really loved this book. I have been really drawn to the book and I have had a hard time putting the book down. I am really interested in all of that characters. They all have their unique personalities that make the book really fun to read. There are many themes that are starting to come about through the story. So far the issues have been very realistic to issues that I am able to relate to in a variety of ways. The book is easy to to follow and flows very well. I want to save my longer and more in depth entry for after I finish the books, so that I can gather all of my thoughts at once, but so far the books has been great and I can't wait to finish it!

Manneken Pis By: Viadimir Radunsky

I have mixed emotions about this book. I loved the pictures. The painting of them made the book really come alive. I also liked the historical point of view that the book brought about. The picture of the Manneken Pies statue on the last page is really neat. I think the book touches upon war which may help discuss war a little easier with students. The issues I have with this book is that I do not think that promoting the idea that children should just pee wherever they want is a good thing. I think using this book to help discuss war to seven or eight year old is fine, but I do not think that is book should be read to a three year old. I do not feel like most three years old should be exposed to the fighting that happens in this book. There are also some sad and dark parts of the story that I do not feel are appropriate for younger children. Like I said before there are aspects of this book that I think are really cool, but I also have issues with this book. I would have to continue to think about whether or not I would allow this book in my classroom.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble By: William Steig

The controversy of this book is that the animals in the story portray certain type of people. For example, the donkeys are the community people and the pigs are the police. There was an issue with the police officers being the pigs. I understand the controversy of this book, but I do not necessarily agree with it. The first time I read through the book I could not find why it was on the controversy book list. I had to look up online why it was on the list. I understood the explanation that was given online, but I do not think that children will pick up on this connection. I was reading this book to analyze it and I did not make the connection, so I do not think that children who are simply reading the book for enjoyment will make the connection that police officers are depicted as pigs. I think this is a creative story that uses animals rather than people and human situation. Cute book!

The Stupids Take Off By: Harry Allard

This book is very funny. But why does the name stupid need to be used. I think the book would have been just as funny if the author would have used a different name that is not offensive. I do not think that book is appropriate for school because the word stupid is not appropriate for school. I would not want a students in my classroom saying the word stupid, therefore I do not want my students hearing of reading the word stupid either. Seeing, hearing, and reading the word stupid in a book only causes children to want to say the word more. I think the character in the story story are very funny and play their roles well. The pictures do a great job of adding humor to the story, but this is not a book that I would all in my classroom.

And Tango Makes Three By: Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

I think that this is a great book. The controversy of this book is that it promotes gay relationships. I think this book is a great book to have in a classroom. Every family is different and there are many children who do not have the typical one mom, one dad family. I think this book is a great book that many children are able to relate to. Sometimes it is hard for adults to talk about issues such as relationships with their students, so I think this is a great book to use in a classroom if that is the issue. The story is very good and I was interested throughout the whole book. I think the pictures are very cute and help explain the story well. Great book!

The Night Kitchen By: Maurice Sendak

This book has created controversy because on many of the images there is a picture of a little boy who is completely naked. I do not think that pictures of a little boy completely naked is appropriate for children to be reading in school. Most children I know would find this book as a joke and would laugh all the way through it rather than focusing on the story. I also do not think that book is appropriate for school because it may bring up conversations among the students that are not appropriate for school. I think this may be a book that I would read to children at home. If the book is read at home then there is more time to explain the pictures. Other than the controversy that comes about in this book I do think that this is a cute story. I like the pictures and think they flow well with the story, but I do not think the nakedness of the young boy was necessary to get the point across