Hansel and Gretel

This well known fairy tale is retold by Rachel Isadora. She sets the fairy tale in a lush African Forest and the a poor woodcutter needs to abandon his two children in the forest because he can no longer feed them, and their step mother wants them out. Hansel over hears his parents plan for their children and goes out in the middle of the night and collects pebbles. The next morning they are taken and left in the forest. But because Hansel dropped the pebbles he knew just where their house was and had a happy homecoming with their father, however, their stepmother was not too happy.

The next night they were left in the even darker and deeper part of the woods, but the birds ate the bread that they left to find their way home. Hansel and Gretel searched for three days, they finally came upon a house built of cake and sweets and started to eat it. An old woman came out and brought them inside and fed them a big meal. When she started to cook them, Gretel kicked her in the stove so she would burn and lite on fire. Then the two of them found their way home and rejoiced with their father, their stepmother died....

The illustrations in this book were absolutely gorgeous. They were really what made this book what it was for me. I thought that the way the illustrations were drawn really add to the over all story. I know I would defiantly have this story in my classroom in the future.

Yay!

I thought this book was the awful. I hated it and thought there was no point to it whatsoever. Something good would happen and the boy would say YAY! and then something bad would happen and the boy would say OH!...I really did not like this book and don't recommend it. 

Holes

Everybody has bad luck at one point or another, and this is no exception for Stanley Yelnats. He was blamed for a crime that he really didn't commit and sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp. The conditions of the camp are awful. The boys have to be in the hot desert sun all day digging holes and looking for something the warden wouldn't tell them what they were digging for. In the end Stanley is relieved of being at the camp and the truth comes out that he didn't commit the crime. Also, all of his bad luck seems to have worked out and he is in the clear for a while. 

This book covers a lot of important concepts that can be discussed in a classroom setting. For example, racism. Since Katherine was white and Sam was a black man and they fell in love the towns people were furious and in the end Sam is killed because of his color. Everyone was against this even the sheriff of the town who was suppose to be the safe haven. It would be interesting to see how students thought about this novel and the topic of racism presented in this way. 

This novel was also turned into a movie with a popular actor. This idea of popular culture may play a role in motivating students to read this longer text and get them excited to discuss the differences between the movie and the book.

Harry and Willy and Carrothead

This is a story about three different boys. One was born with no hand, the other red hair and the other was what some people like to call, "normal". They all were teased and sometimes mad fun of, but in the end they all realized no matter what they look like, they all have the same interests and become best friends. 

I choose to read this book because I have reddish hair and was teased by some people when I was younger. I think that a lot of the times when we are younger we all want to look the same and be like everyone else. For example, I hated my hair and wanted to dye it a different color. But as I grew older, I realized that my hair is what made me who I am and different from everyone else. I think this book does a great job of showing how important it is for kids not to judge other kids on their appearance. It can be really harmful and traumatic to some kids. 

The Retired Kid

 This is a cute story about an 8 year old boy who is sick and tired of doing what kids do. He didn't want to go to school, soccer practice, eat vegetables or play the violin everyday. He sat down his parents and told him that he was going to take a break and retire. His parents then threw him a retirement party and he left for Florida and lived in a retirement community. At first he loved everything about it, the naps, the games etc. But after awhile he realized it wasn't as fun and the "older people" were all talking about the good old days. He decided he missed all the things that made him a kid and decided to go back home and be a kid again. 

I thought this book was a cute one which had a good lesson. Be happy with who you are and what makes you, you! However, this book did display the old people as typical larger, white haired and slower, which isn't always true. 

Pinkalicious

This is a really cute book about a young girl who loves the color pink. One day her and her mom make pink cupcakes and she ends up eating all of them. When she wakes up in the morning she is pink! She loves being pink, but soon she starts turning darker and darker and finally realizes she needs to listen to the doctor and eat green foods to help her turn back to her "normal" color. After she does this, her brother ate a lot of the pink cupcakes and turns pink as well. 

There is a good lesson behind this book, of being thankful for what you are given, but don't ask for too much of it. Although I know that this book is popular in classroom libraries for little girls, I have many issues with it. I look at the characters in the book and it is a typical white upper middle class family with no diversity what so ever. The fact that it is so popular with little kids today and making other books like purpleicous etc, they are sending a message to kids that these colors are gender specific and people who like these books look a certain way. 

Although I have learned in classes that it is important for students to choose in their readings, I don't think that this book has a lot of knowledgeable content for students to take away. I would categorize this book under one for pure relaxation and enjoyment. 

Stop, Drop and Roll

This is a very good book to have on hand when students are learning about fire safety and what to do to be fully prepared when dealing in case you encounter a fire. I really liked this book because I could personally relate to Jessica the main character. I was always a real anxious kid and was worried about practically everything. When I went to my family about certain things they would most of the time ignore me or tell me not to worry, just like Jessica's family did to her. 

This book covers a lot of great information that kids could take away and really use and save their lives in a situation with a fire. Also, it makes them think about their own houses and whether or not their house is the safest it can be from fires. 

The illustrations in this book are perfect for this type of book. They are sketches and since the book is more about the "what if" and "be prepared" for a fire, there aren't scary pictures of fires that will make children nervous. I think this is a good idea because a lot of time children might see scary pictures and avoid the whole subject, which they shouldn't at all. 

I think this book is perfect for a classroom library. Students will be able to relate to Jessica and her feelings of anxiousness. Students should know that they shouldn't feel bad if they don't have a fire plan, but they should make one and start thinking about what to do in emergencies. Preparation is key.