Karen's Blog

Title of the book: The Frog Princess      Author:Rosalind Allchin Genre: Fantasy Awards: N/A Age group:5-8 years old Summary:This book is about a frog who wishes to become a princess and once she gets a little taste of the life, she realizes she hates it. This book was very interesting because it takes a turn on what would be a book about a frog princess who enjoys it. The princess realizes she does not want to be a princess because it comes with so much work when she had such a simple life before. Teacher Evaluation: I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely use it as an entertainment book during a read aloud. I loved looking at the illustrations in this book and was quite surprised that it had no awards for illustrations and the story itself. I would use this book to also teach students that sometimes the simple is okay and make a lesson of something that makes them happy but sometimes others do not feel that way. 

Title of the book: The Three Little Javelinas Author: Susan Lowell Genre: Fantasy Awards:  Arizona Young Readers Award 1994 Age group: 3-8year olds Summary: This book is a southern interpretation of The Three Little Pigs and how their story on how their houses got destroyed. Instead of a wolf blowing down their house, a coyote comes by and does this to the first two javelinas. The third javelina however built her house with adobe bricks and the first two javelinas run to safety in this home. This third javelina burns the coyotes tail and it is said that if you hear the coyote at night, it is howling and remembering the time when a javelina burnt his tail.  Teacher Evaluation: This book is an entertainment book for sure and it is something different if you are wanting to read The Three Little Pigs and feel as so the students already know the story, this would be a great substitute. 

Title of the book: Imogene's Antlers Author: David Small Genre: Fantasy Awards: Kentucky Bluegrass Master List in 1987 Age group: 5-9 Summary: This book is about a young girl name Imogene and she happened to have grown antlers overnight. This caused worry in her family but she was not worried, she used the antlers for good instead. She goes through all her normal life events that have been changed due to her having antlers and shows how she dealt with it through illustrations. The next day when she wakes up, instead of still having antlers, she has a peacock tail, so my guess is there could be a book about her life with the peacock tail.  Teacher Evaluation: I would read this story to my students as an entertainment story. I noticed how it made it to the  Kentucky Bluegrass Master List in 1987 and after looking it up, it was basically a list of books chosen for each grade by librarians and teachers for students. This book does not really have a lesson in my opin...

Title of the book: Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems Author: Marilyn Singer      Genre: Poetry Awards:ALA N otable,  winner of the Cybil Award in Poetry and the Land of Enchantment Picture Book Award Age group: 6-9 years Summary: In this book are many poems that work in reverse as they do regularly. It is basically a bunch of poems reversed that have to do with the fairy tale it is speaking about. One of the poems that I was looking at was Longing for Beauty, which is based off of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast and the poem is speaking about how the beast is looking for love in a beauty but how a beauty can also love a beast.  Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher I would use this book to teach about my students about reverse poems and how cool they could be to make and learn about. This is a good book as well because it is full of fairy tales and the students could become entertained by this.

Title of the Book: Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry Author: Ashley Bryan Genre: Poetry Awards: Coretta Scott King Award Age group:4-9 years old Summary: A quick summary of this book is basically a poem for every letter of the alphabet that has to do with the first letter of the poem being the letter of the alphabet that we are on. The book is filled with many different authors telling the poems and they're all over African American culture and people.  Teacher Evaluation: I would definitely use this book to teach my students over African American culture and also show them ABC concept books merged with poetry books. This book also won the Coretta Scott King Award which is given to African American authors and illustrators and this book definitely fits the category on top of its outstanding poems on each page. 

Title of the book: A Poke in the I Author: Paul Janezko Genre: Poetry Awards:Notable Children's Books Age group: 6-9 years old Summary: At the beginning of this book the audience realizes that the way the poems are shaped are based off of what the poems are talking about. One of the poems that stood out to me was the poem on page 11 by John Hegley, this book is in the shape of an eye exam including the way the letters are spaced out in the words and how the letters get smaller each line that goes down. This poem is talking about someone who needs contacts. Another poem I really enjoyed from this book was one called Giraffe by Maureen W Armour because it is in the shape of a giraffe and it basically is talking about the characteristics of a giraffe.  Teacher Evaluation: This book is all about concrete poems meaning that the poems are in the shape of what the poem is about. This poem even includes one to two word poems. I would definitely use this book when teaching concrete poems an...

Title of the book: The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders  Author: Jack Prelutsky Genre:Poetry Awards:N/A Age Group:4-8 years old Summary: This book is filled with different types of poems on each page and each poem is also filled with rhymes. Every one of the poems speak on different topics and I think that is pretty cool to have a book of poems. On page 36, there is a poem named "One Old Owl," talks about what an owl does and basically when its awake while also including rhyming throughout the poem. On page 50, there is a poem called "Every Morning in Fort Myers" and it is a very silly poem about penguins looking for snow in the Gulf of Mexico, something they won't find there. This poem also includes rhymes.  Teacher Evaluation: I would read this book to my students when teaching about rhyming and poetry to students. It is a very silly book while also being very useful for teaching poetry to students, I would let the students pick a couple of poems from the book so I c...

Title of Book: Sing a Song of Piglets Genre: Poetry  Author: Eve Bunting Awards:N/A Age group:3-6 years old Summary:This book is basically a Piglet calendar and a short poem with each month based off of the weather or holiday going on throughout that month. My two favorite poems were probably October's calendar day and November calendar day.  Teacher Evaluation: I would most likely read this book to my students when teaching them about rhyming, holidays, and even months of the year. This book is very fun yet very educational for student's as well as it being a cute fun read. This book informs students on some of the main holidays that are celebrated throughout the year and there is many fun activities they could do with this book. 

 Title of the book: Cinderella Genre of book: Traditional Literature Author of the book: Lindsay Mizer Awards: N/A Age group: 4-8 Summary: At the beginning of the book the audience is introduced to a girl named Ella who lives with her step sisters and her step mother who do not treat her very nice. Ella did not mind being told to do chores because she made the best of it. One day a message is dropped at the door reading that the prince is looking for a princess to marry and their will be a royal ball to attend for all the women, except the step mother does not want Ella to go. Ella gets her stepsisters ready for the ball and begs to go but is turned away. Her fairy godmother then shows up, gets her ready for the ball, and the night is magical after that. At midnight Ella must return home but she forgets her slipper and the prince then looks for her with this missing slipper. The prince finds her and marries her and takes Ella away from her terrible treating family.  Teacher Ev...

Title of this book: The Gingerbread Man Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Catherine McCafferty Awards:N/A Age groups:3-6 years old Summary: At the beginning of the book we meet an elderly couple who wants to have a child so therefore the woman makes a gingerbread man that she will call her son. But like all children, the gingerbread man got up and started to run away from his parents and got caught in many challenges. He met a cat, a snake, a goose, and a fox. The fox then tricks the gingerbread man into helping him out but the gingerbread man gets played and falls into the trick and dies. Teacher Evaluation: This book is a fun read for children but it is also a very good lesson book to tell. In this book the children can learn that by trusting someone who is not their parents or someone who genuinely cares about them and wants the best for them, they could have them in trouble. This book also shows not to trust everyone. I also liked how this book is in both English and Spanish so...

 Title of the book: Madeline  Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Ludwig Bemelmans Awards: Caldecott Medal Age groups: 4-6years old Summary: At the very beginning of this book, the audience recognizes that the girls in the book are all at an orphanage for girls. The narrator then explains that the 12 little girls in the orphanage all have a daily routine that is always followed and they do everything together. We are then presented to a little girl by the name of Madeline who is not afraid of anything until one night she does not feel well and is taken to the hospital away from the other little girls. The girls then visit Madeline in the hospital and realize that she is having such a fun time in the hospital and now the little girls also want to go there even though they are healthy. Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher I would also use this book as a fun read aloud for my students in a way to show them about many different things that can occur in their life or around their lif...

Title of the book: The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Jon Sciezka Awards: Texas Bluebonnet Award Age Group: 3-8 Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, this definitely would be a fun read aloud for my students. I believe that it not only shows students that if they're smart about their decisions then it will be harder for those around them to destroy whatever they have going on. This would benefit my students by showing them that hard work pays off. The last pig built his house out of brick and it took him a while to do so but with this being said, his house also stayed up even when the big bad wolf tried to huff and puff away. This book also won the Texas Bluebonnet Award and this award is given after students vote on their favorite book and then the book with the most votes wins. With this being said, this is definitely a children favorite and one I would read to them again.  Summary: In the introduction of this book, the audience learns that...

 Title of this book: Goldilocks and the Three Bears Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Audrey Daly Awards: N/A Age groups: 4-8 Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher I would read this book to my lower elementary class to teach them about not taking whats not theres. This book would benefit my students because it not only teaches them about not taking whats there's but in a sense also shows them about manners. At this age students are learning at home and at school about what not to touch and whats there's, this is a great and fun book to teach more in detail over this. Summary: In this short tale, the author begins by introducing the Bear Family. Goldilocks is then introduced as the Bear Family leave for a walk while their food cools down. Goldilocks then welcomes herself into the Bear Family house hold and tries their food, sits in their chairs, and lays in their beds and is then confronted at the end.