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!