One Cool Friend

One Cool Friend

Written by Tony Buzzeo

Illustrated by David Small

Dial, 2012

32 pages

Children’s/ Picture Book

                                                                                                                                                                                   

                I chose this story because I love penguins, so it automatically appealed to me.  This story follows a little boy named Elliot on his adventure to the aquarium with his father.  Elliot is a rather proper child who likes to wear a tux, his father is more laid back and a very colorful character. When Elliot goes to the aquarium he skips past every other exhibit and heads straight toward the penguins. Elliot goes to ask his father for some money to buy a penguin and when his father hands him a twenty he is not expecting what Elliot has in mind. Elliot then goes to back to the penguin exhibit, opens his back pack and picks out the tiniest penguin to take home with him. Once they get back home there is tons of surprises that Elliot’s new penguin has in store for him and his father. To find out exactly you definitely need to read One Cool Friend.

                The illustrations in this book are wonderful. The pictures are simple black and white and some color thrown in throughout the story. Elliot is portrayed as proper and simple. Elliot’s father is more colorful and has a free spirit look about him. I feel that the illustrations are perfect for children by the simple yet detailed way they are drawn. The mediums used in this book are pen and ink, watercolors, and colored pencils. The pictures in this story are one page, and two page illustrations. The text is varied from the top, bottom and middle of the page, as well as some text is encircled in a bubble.

                I think any age group would enjoy this book, especially Second graders who might have had a field trip to an aquarium or more of a chance to have been there before. You can use this in your classroom in a Science lesson by talking to students about how certain animals are from the Artic and why they have to live there. This can be used by showing pictures of the animals, as well as how they live. You can use this in a writing activity by having the students write about what they love about the aquarium, and what animal exhibit they would be attracted to. Students also can do an art lesson on drawing a picture of them and their best friend doing an activity that they both love to do together.

This book was a 2013 Caldecott Honor book.

Wemberly Worried

 

Wemberly Worried

Written and illustrated by Kevin Henekes

Greenwillow Books, 2000

32 pages

Children’s/ Picture book

I choose this book because Mrs. Jones read it to us the first day of class. I instantly fell in love with it and the way that she is so scared and worried about everything. Little Wimberley worries about everything, from her spots, to her school and to being liked by her classmates.  When she worries her father tells her that every time she worries her father worries. Wemberly worries her little mind rampid about school and how she doesn’t want to go even though her father takes her by the school and shows her it’s not that bad. When Wemberly gets to school the teacher introduces her to a little girl who to is shy and is worried about starting school. The day she has at school and the way she ends it is a shock to everyone.

The illustration in this book is very simple and uses basic pictures, and drawings. I feel that this illustration was done using pen and ink, and watercolor. The way that Wemberly looks sad and yet has bright colors on her and her clothes is a contrast to each other. The text in this story was all over the pages. Some text was on the top and bottom. Some text went from the top, middle, side, and all over the same page. I feel that this could be hard for a student who is just learning to read and goes left to right.  Wemberly’s grandmother is also seen in the backgrounds of the pictures in shirts that say “go with the flow” and “Don’t worry” which is the opposite of how Wemberly feels.

 

This story would be perfect to read to any grade level. I feel this because everyone knows what it is like to worry about things. The students can bring in their own little stuffed animals or blankets that helped them when they were young and tell the class all about them. A Language arts lesson would be that the students can write about what they were nervous and worried about on their first days of school, and how they relate to Wemberly.  Also a social studies activity on communities, since your school is a part of the community.

 

 

Let's Do Nothing

Let’s do nothing

Written and Illustrated by Tony Fucile

Candlewick Press, 2009

40 pages

Children’s/ Picture book

I chose this book because of the title, how many time do we get to just sit and do nothing? Actually its quite harder than you would think, Frankie and his friend Sal figure that out the hard way. They start of being bored because they have done everything two little boys can think of doing. They have painted pictures, baked cookies, and ready every comic imaginable. Sal figures out that they need to try to do nothing.. easier said than done. Frankie has a hard time doing nothing; he tries shooing pigeons away when he’s a stone statue, and a dog going to the bathroom on him when he is a big tree. Even Godzilla comes to see him when he is the empire state building. As Frankie is struggling the boys come across a brilliant discovery that changes their whole view of thinking.

                The illustration in the book is very vivid and colorful. The pages are full of pretty backgrounds and two very nosy, busy boys.  The boys are drawn like cartoon characters, yet still have human characteristics. The text in this book was all over the page, as well as it was small and larger print. The mediums used in this illustration are ink, colored pencil, and acrylic on watercolor paper. I feel that he did a wonderful job of portraying the interest that young boys have, and how many questions they have and how their imaginations run wild.

                This story can be read to Kindergarten through sixth graders, everyone needs to be reminded that you can/ can’t do nothing. You can teach your students about self control, by making them sit still like the boys do in the story. They can pretend that they are a tree or statue and what type of natural things they would encounter. Your students can compare and contrast why they think that Sal can sit and do nothing, while Frankie is having great difficulties sitting and doing nothing.  Also a science lesson on the forces of motion, and how no matter what our bodies are always doing something.

Guess who's coming to Santa's for dinner?

Guess Who’s coming to Santa’s for Dinner?

Written and Illustrated by Tomie dePaola

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2004

 41 pages

Children’s/ Picture Book

 

I chose this book because by the cover it seemed to be that it was a interesting dinner that was about to take place at the Claus house. Mr. Claus decides that he wants to have his family over for Christmas, and Mrs. Claus is a little reluctant about it. Mr. Claus goes out on Christmas Eve to go deliver the presents and his family starts to slowly arrive. There is all the children and brothers and sisters of the family, as well as cats, dogs and a surprise guest no one is happy to see. Dinner is being prepared and all the family being crowded in the house makes for some interesting conversations and activities that happen.

                The illustration in this book is very colorful and cartoon like. The layout is set up like a cartoon strip, with the words on the top and bottom of the page, as well as the text balloons outside the characters heads. The medium used in this book were I feel watercolors. The colors are bright and cheerful and make you feel like you are right in the middle of the family dinner.

                This book would be enjoyed by Kindergarten through Second graders; I feel that after that students might think it was silly. Students can have a social studies lesson, and make their own family tree. They can take it home and get help from their parents and show who all makes up their family as well as where they come from.  The students can also compare and contrast typical holiday characters and discuss what dinner would be like with all of them.  Another lesson could be a Science lesson on what animals come from the arctic, and why they have to live in the cold.

 

 

Olivi's Great Adventure

Olivia goes to Venice

Written and Illustrated by Ian Falconer

Antheneum Books for young readers, 2010

40 pages

Children’s/ Picture book

I choose this story because the Olivia books have always been some of my favorites, and I had not read this one. This time Olivia and her parents are going on a vacation and Olivia could not be more excited. The story follows them throughout their adventure through Venice with A LOT of gelato being eaten by Miss. Olivia. Her and her family goes on a gondola ride; however the driver isn’t too happy about Olivia being on board. They go and see the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco. Olivia wants to get some corn to feed the birds, however they end up chasing her and she does not like that one bit. As their trip is winding down Olivia feels she has to find something to bring back with her, but nothing quite seems right. In the end she finds something, and it leaves the town of Venice remembering Olivia very well.

                Olivia goes to Venice is illustrated with tons of beautiful colored pictures of the whole city of Venice. Olivia and her family however are white, and so are the other pigs in the story and I found that to be rather interesting. Only Olivia’s family’s clothes were in color. The detail that is put into the buildings in the story are magnificent, they look like real replicas of the buildings. After thorough investigating I was not able to find the medium that Ian Falconer uses, however he makes Olivia and her family white so that you can see their expressions and facial features better. The text in this book was on the top and bottom of the page.

                This book would be recommended for Kindergarten to even third graders. Classroom connections with the story can include taking your students on a visual on line tour of Venice. During which you can point out the important historical monuments and buildings to them.  Your students can also write how they relate to Olivia, and what qualities they have that are the same, or different. Olivia is also close to her family and they are also in every story that Olivia is in. Students can bring something from home that is important to them and their family and have a show in tell in class about it and why it is important to their family.