Open This Little Book

Masterfully created and written by Jesse Klausmeier and Suzy Lee, Open This Little Book is a fantastically creative children's book that ignites the imagination and encourages reading. This book is done in a "Russian-doll-esque style", because the book is actually many "books" inside of each other! While the book itself stays the same size, each page gets physically smaller and smaller as it creates a rainbow of pages as you reach the end. This innovative book is about friendships, never-ending stories, and just encompasses the overall excitement of reading. As you turn each page of the book, a new book begins that includes characters and friends from the last page. 

This was such a fun book to read and I'm so glad I picked it up to review. It is colorful, adorable, inviting, and ingenious! It reminded me that books aimed at young readers can still be enjoyed by seasoned readers as well! I thought the characters were cute, and I loved how the last story tied in all of the stories at once. I enjoyed the last page of the book too because it sends a great message to keep on reading! I feel like there are many applications to use this book in the classroom, but for young readers I would focus on either the color aspect or the characters of this book. Students could create their own stories for the animals, possibly by changing the colors to make it unique and their own. They could also create a class book in the same nesting fashion with the stories the student's wrote, even enlarge it to hang on a wall of their classroom. 

Klausmeier, J. (2013). Open this little book. San Fransisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

We Are in a Book!

We Are in a Book! is an early-childhood picture book and also a Geisel Honor award winner, written by Mo Willems. This book stars Piggie and Gerald and captures the hilarity that ensues when they realize they can make the reader say any word they want - because their conversations are part of reading the book! As Piggie and Gerald realize the joy of being read, their laughter cannot be stopped as they "hear" the reader speak the words they say, like "BANANA!" After they calm down, they realize that - oh no - the book ENDS! This was my favorite part in the book because of how the characters reacted to learning this, and also because it encourages readers to reread the book over and over!

I loved this story! I found myself giggling out loud in response to Piggie and Gerald's ongoing laughter about reading the words. The characters' reactions to reading excites readers, and their facial expressions are spot-on for this story and capture readers' attention. I enjoyed how the author used words that are perfect vocabulary for beginning readers, and used great examples of syllables to help young children learn new words. I would like to see this story be animated in a kindergarten or 1st grade classroom by two teachers - one to voice Gerald and one to voice Piggie. This way, the story can come alive and be read like it is supposed to, with emotion and excitement! The class would read along with the teachers and repeat the words from the book in unison.

Willems, Mo. (2010) We are in a book! New York: Disney-Hyperion Books.

Marguerite De Angeli's Book of Nursery & Mother Goose Rhymes

Book of Nursery & Mother Goose Rhymes is a traditional children's book filled with classic poems, fairy tales and rhymes that has been enjoyed by all ages for decades. This Mother Goose title weaves in delicate pencil illustrations, done in both black and white and color, with familiar nursery rhymes that utilize many literary devices such as repetition, alliteration, metaphors, symbolism, rhyming, free-verse and other forms of poetry. Poems such as "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper" are included.

This book certainly struck a nostalgic string as I read through the pages, many of the poems were familiar to me but there were quite a few that were new. It is a great product of children's literature, and I love how it can be read by children of all ages. I think books like these that aren't written as a novel but instead are a collection of individual works are very versatile in the classroom. For example, in younger grades it can be used by the students to find examples of rhyming words and put them on a word wall. For middle aged students it can be used to analyze different literary or poetic elements like onomatopoeia, metaphors and similes, and alliteration. For older students, they can dissect a particular style of poetry or storytelling and transform it into something else; if the story is a riddle they can try to write their own, if the poem is happy and positive maybe they can use higher-level vocabulary to turn change the mood of the poem.

De Angeli, M. (1954). Book of nursery & mother goose rhymes. Chicago, IL: F.E. Compton Co.

Becoming Ben Franklin: How a Candle-Maker’s Son Helped Light the Flame of Liberty

Becoming Ben Franklin is a biographical story written by acclaimed nonfiction author Russel Freedman. It tells about all of the different sides of Benjamin Franklin and how he was a scientist, printer, inventor and writer. This book speaks about Franklin's achievements, such as being the only Founding Father to sign all four of the major documents that would eventually lead to establishing the nation as the United States, and taking a stance against slavery. The book is filled with great photographs and illustrations of documents, people, and historical diagrams. Overall, it informs readers of how Ben Franklin became an icon during his time, and how he still remains an iconic figure today.

I thought this book was just excellent! The author was very skilled in using well-researched facts and explaining them through great storytelling. It's a fairly short book that is filled to the brim with interesting facts and information, some of which was new to me. It seems like this would be a great book for upper elementary students and certainly for middle schoolers. It would fit right into a U.S. History class as it references many important happenings in our nation's history. It teaches students about the significance of Franklin during the creation of the U.S. while also informing readers of aspects of his personal life. I would use this book as a research reference source for students to use to complete a report on a Founding Father. Students could also use this book to create a timeline of Franklin's life and achievements.

Freedman, R. (2013). Becoming ben franklin: How a candle-maker’s son helped light the flame of liberty. New York: Holiday House Publishing.

Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives

Written by Lola M. Schaefer and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal, Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives is an extraordinary counting picture book that invites readers to learn about some very interesting facts regarding the lives of a variety of animals. Readers learn about the numerous things that can happen in just a single lifetime, such as "a seahorse will birth 1,000 babies" and "a woodpecker will drill 30 roosting holes". The content is based off of real data gained from observing a wild animal from birth to adulthood, and it counts how many times an animal conducts a certain activity or behavior, or gains a particular feature.

This book was really something special, and not like anything I've read before. It was cool to have all of those facts in one place instead of having to learn about one animal at a time. It's intriguing, sometimes astounding, and I learned a lot from reading it! I like that it is exciting yet informational to read, and this book can be tied into many content areas like science, art, reading and math. I would use this book in an elementary class setting during a math lesson. Students would read through the book, and then synthesize the numbers and facts into tangible elements. For example, students might read that a caribou will grow and shed 10 pairs of antlers; they would then use paper cutouts to represent the number 10 on a piece of paper. For the larger numbers (a giraffe will wear 200 spots), students might use pieces of paper that are labeled by 10's to represent the number 200 - there would be 20 pieces of paper to illustrate counting by ten's. Students could illustrate their counting with the animal they are representing.

Schaefer, L. (2013). Lifetime: The amazing numbers in animal lives. San Fransisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is a popular fiction novel (and movie) written by John Green, and is aimed at late middle school to high school leveled audiences. This fantastic novel is about two teenagers, Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters, who are both battling terminal illnesses. They first meet at a youth support group for kids who have cancer, although Hazel is not yet aware of the extent of Augustus's illness. Hazel and Gus come together while fighting similar battles, and eventually fall in love. Hazel ends up introducing Gus to her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, and they both become adamant on meeting the author in person so they can ask him questions about the characters in his book. Through charitable organizations, the two teens are able to fly to Amsterdam to meet the author. Yet, when they meet him, they are confronted by a rude, drunk man who won't answer their questions. The two teens brush it off and try to enjoy the rest of their trip, but on the last day Gus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned. After many tears and a short but memorable relationship, Gus passes away and leaves Hazel with a letter that is delivered to her by the author they met in Amsterdam. In the end, Hazel is comforted by Gus's last words to her and the readers are left somber, but happy for her.
  
I had to review this book because I have a personal connection to it that involves my own love for someone very special to me. I think this book can speak to teens and young adults in many ways like this, it truly is a book that stays with you for a long time. I really admired the author's literary style, he uses vocabulary that ties into the title of the book in very subtle ways. Although this book is directed at a slightly older audience and is a youth love-story, it has countless ways that it can be used in the classroom. I would use this book in an English classroom in a book club activity. There are endless directed discussion questions, anticipation guides, opportunities for extended writing prompts, author connections, and higher-level vocabulary terms to go along with this book. I would highly recommend using it in a high school classroom.

Green, J. (2012). The fault in our stars. New York: Dutton Books.

Iguanas in the Snow

In this picture book Iguanas in the Snow, author Francisco X. Alarcón creates a family-friendly story book of poems that celebrates the diversity of people and the changing of the seasons. This is the last book in Alarcón's series and it focuses on the season of winter. This is a bilingual book that has poems written in Spanish and English, though each version is slightly different so it can be told properly in its native language. This story makes connections to different parts of the world by comparing California to Mexico in the winter time. This is a great component of the book because students from different parts of the world can relate to what the seasons are like where they're from.

I like that this book is part of a series on seasons and how they are all written in poetry, especially that they are in two different languages. I really appreciated how each poem was not translated word-for-word in the opposing language so that the special nuances of each language is kept throughout. This book put a smile on my face as I read through it, the poems are very delicate and reign true to each season and the illustrations are lovely. I would use this book in an elementary classroom when learning about the seasons, or about geographical locations and how people experience seasons differently depending on where in the world they live. It's a great way to include components of poetry and how stories can be told in different ways.

Alarcón, F. (2001). Iguanas in the snow. San Fransisco, CA: Children's Book Press.