The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino is a story of a young boy who is on a mission to do the impossible. Jacques Cousteau created the SCUBA gear that we use today. He was an evolutionary, he forever changed the way that people viewed the ocean. 

The writer and illustrator of the book, Dan Yaccarino, did an excellent job. The information is presented in a way that is easy for children to comprehend but still exciting enough to keep young children's attention. The illustrations in this book are terrific. They are vibrant and excite the reader, especially young children. 

Dan Yaccarino has written and illustrated a number of books including Unlovable, The Birthday Fish, as well as Goodnight, Mr. Night. He has also created the beloved children television shows Oswald, and The Backyardigans. 

If I were teaching this book in my classroom I would have my students think of something that we think is impossible to do to this day, and invent something to make this possible to achieve. They would have to name it, draw what it would look like and tell what exactly it would do if it were created in real life. 

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Yaccarino, D. (2009). The fantastic undersea life of Jacques Cousteau. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

YaccarinoStudio.com. (n.d.). YaccarinoStudio.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from http://www.danyaccarino.com/ys/credits.html

Sojourner Truth Preacher for Freedom and Equality

Soujourner Truth Preacher for Freedom and Equality by Suzanne Slade and Illlustrated by Natascha Alex Blanks is a story of great triumph. This is a story of a small girl who rises from slavery, changes her names and becomes a huge voice heard across the U.S.

This book is part of the genre biography. It is biographical because it is about the real life of Sojourner Truth.  This book presents facts about her life. This book is great because it offers great truth but it also engages the reader with the vibrant colors and simple yet informational text. 

The illustrator of this book is Natascha Alex Blanks. She does a great job at capturing the emotions of the text. The illustrations are very detailed and enhance the text. Natascha Alex Blanks has also illustrated Vietnam Abc's: A Book about the People and Places of Vietnam.

I would have my students write about what they would do if they were a slave and how they would feel when they heard of Sojourney Truth.

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Natascha Alex Blanks - Books, Biography, Contact Information. (n.d.). JacketFlap.com - Children's books, Teen books, Writers, Authors, Illustrators, Librarians, Agents, Editors, Publicists, Publishers, and Blogs. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from http://www.jacketflap.com/natascha-alex-blanks/116229

Slade, S., & Blanks, N. A. (2008). Sojourner Truth: preacher for freedom and equality. Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books.

Thumbelina

Thumbelina by Hans Christian Anderson is a timeless tale. This is about a tiny little girl who deals with the ever intimidating theme of good vs. evil.  This story is a folktale/fairytale.  I believe that this book shows the value of respect because she respects the others opinions and feelings before she listens to her heart and begins to respect her own thoughts. She begins to show self respect and I think that is a very important aspect to respect. This book will always have a place in my heart but I know that some children might be afraid of some of these characters. A great activity for this book would be to write about what the children would do if they were in this story. 

References

Andersen, H. C., Haugaard, E. C., & Graston, A. (1997). Thumbelina. New York: Delacorte Press.

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Gorillas

Gorillas by Gail Gibbons is an excellent book to expand children's minds. The book is about the wild gorillas that reside in Africa. 

This book falls under the genre of non-fiction. It offers great information on the gorillas. The book is also illustrated in a very compelling manor. It is as if it was drawn right in front of you. The book also offers captions and additional information on the gorillas. 

Gail Gibbons also did the illustrations in this book and did an excellent job.  She has written and illustrated a large number of the non-fiction books we see today. Some of her works include Zoo, and Emergency!

I would have my students create a diorama of the habitat that the gorillas live in naturally and then have them look at how different that habitat looks from the habitat that they have in the zoo. I would also have them write a letter to one of the gorillas and to look at the website provided in the back of the book with their parents. 


References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Gibbons, G. (2011). Gorillas. New York: Holiday House.

Pete the Cat: I love my White Shoes

I cannot tell you how much I love this book! Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by Eric Lewis (Mr. Eric) is a great book about going with the flow of things and not being upset about what happens. 

The genre of the book is poetry. This book is a song and if you go online you can actually hear the song so that you are not guessing the tune of the song. 

Children would LOVE this book. The art in the book is by James Dean and it is awesome. It would appeal to children as well as adults. It is so much fun.  James Dean was the creator of the character "Pete" who was actually modeled after his cat who passed on. 

Mr. Eric has made quite a few other "Pete the Cat" books. I read this book online but I cannot wait to get my hands on this book and read it to my pre-k class. 

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Litwin, E., & Dean, J. (2010). Pete the cat: I love my white shoes. New York: Harper.

Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo is about a china rabbit named Edward who is lost and learns how to love and respect what he has. 

This story was a great book. This is fantasy because obviously a doll cannot talk. 

This story shows respect because he finally comes to respect everyone that ever loved him and what they have done for him. He had to go through a lot of losses to realize how much he loved the ones that loved him.

There are not many illustrations so this is not a picture book. However, the illustrations that are in the book are very detailed pencil drawings. Bagram Ibatoulline does a great job in the pictures that are in this book. 

I would have my students write and draw their most prized possession and what they would do if it were lost. 

References

DiCamillo, K., & Ibatoulline, B. (2006). The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Night of the Gargoyles

The book that I read was the Night of the Gargoyles by Eve Bunting. This book follows a group of gargoyles as they have fun sneaking around the museum in which they guard and scare humans for fun. 

The book falls under the category of  Science Fiction as well as picture books 

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the illustrations were impeccable. The illustrations were done David Wiesner and are very eerie and go great with the topic. He does not use any colors in this book but the shading done is incredible. 

Eve Bunting is an incredible author and has written many books for children. Some of her books include Sunshine Home as well as The Two Giants. 

David Wiesner has also created an array of picture books such as June 29,1999 and Hurricane. He has also won a Caldecott Medal for Tuesday. 

If I were teaching this book I would have my students play a game. In this game I would have my students "freeze" in the light and then turn off the light and have them creep around the room as if they were in fact a gargoyle. 

References

Bunting, E., & Wiesner, D. (1994). Night of the gargoyles. New York: Clarion Books.

Eve Bunting's Biography | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Scholastic, Helping Children Around the World to Read and Learn | Scholastic.com. Retrieved October 7, 2012, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/eve-bunting

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

The Sun Is So Quiet

References

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2009). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Giovanni, N., & Bryan, A. (1996). The sun is so quiet. New York: Henry Holt.