Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You See? By Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

I remember reading this book when I was younger and I picked it up because I remembered that it rhymed. Going through it again I was visualizing the entire book as a big poem. It flows so easily and each page ties into the following page. The sentences are simple and short so this would be a good book to read to younger children or have them read by themselves. Due to the amount of animals that are mentioned in the book would also make it a good book to use in a science unit when studying animals.
The illustrations were done by Eric Carle so they look amazing. The illustrations are bright and colorful. With the way the illustrations seem to be created with paint strokes. By having the paint strokes in the illustrations it almost seemed to give them texture. Overall this is a fun book to share with a class, it gives them an idea of what poetry is like, exposes them to a wide variety of animals, and is eye catching with it's bring illustrations.

Darcy and Gran don't Like Babies by Jane Cutler Illustrated by Susannah Ryan

Having a new baby in the house can be a very scary time in the life of a child and this book addresses the feelings that children might encounter when there is new addition to their family. In this book Darcy has a new baby in the family and she hates babies. Her grandmother comes to visit and Darcy tells her that she hates babies. Gran asks Darcy what she doesn't like about babies and then Darcy realizes that she deep down she likes the baby after all.

The illustrations in the book I though were kind of boring. The colors were kind of dull and there was little interesting detail in the book. I have been reading these fun books with interesting and different illustrations. To read a book that doesn't have illustrations like that is a little disappointing and boring. By looking at this book and thinking back to the books I have liked more made me realize that through blogging I have determined what kind of books I like and what kind of books I want to avoid. Unfortunately this is a book I want to avoid.

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka Illustrated by Lane Smith

This book is one of my favorites because it is such a fun text! The cover introduces the newspaper theme that is carried out through the book. The book is a spin on the the classic three little pigs story. In this version the wolf claims that he did not do anything wrong but he was framed by reporters who wanted a better story. I liked the newspaper feel that the book had. The illustrations were kind of dark, lots of browns and blacks were used which added to the darkness of this tale. The three little pigs is pretty dark considering that the pigs were eaten. There was almost a collage feel to the illustrations and that makes the illustrations almost three dimensional.

Hearing from the wolf's point of view was a different, and it made it fun to read. Alexander T. Wolf is a fun character because he is convinced that he did nothing wrong in eating the two pigs. Also some of the dialogue from the pigs is kind of funny, the author made the pigs seem like they had an attitude. Kids would find the sassy dialogue fun to read and they would get a laugh out of it. This book is good to read to a read aloud as well as incorporate into the curriculum. This book can open the discussion to right and wrong, point of view, and the role of media in what we hear. This book is a fun read and can open up opportunities to discuss important topics.

Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis

This book is simple and to the point but soooooo great! This is a book about the different and imaginative uses for a stick. The illustrations show what the stick could be and within the imaginative figure the stick is visible. By doing this the children can see how someone would imagine the stick being used in that way. The cover even looks like a piece of wood!
The reason I really liked this book was the idea behind it. The idea that we can think outside of the box and not be constrained by what others perceive as being right or correct. I liked this book so much that I used it in a brainstorming activity for a class. I read the book and then had the student I was working with do the same thing that the character in the book did, think of different uses for everyday , ordinary objects. When I have my own classroom I would read this book to a class when brainstorming ideas for a new writing project.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Patridge By Mem Fox Illustrated by Julie Vivas

I was suggested this book by my mother who happens to teach a kindergarten class. She said that this was a beautiful story about memories and it was so touching to her that it made her cry. I had high expectations for this story before I read it, I mean it had to be good in order to evoke such an emotional response from my mother. I began to read it and the first thing that stood out to me was the amount of repetition in the book. Mem Fox used repetition when describing the people that lived in the nursing home next to Wilfrid Gordon. Repetition can be very useful when doing choral reading or involving the students when reading the text.

My mother was right this is a beautiful story about memories. Wilfrid Gordon's friend, Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt is losing her memory and Wilfrid is tries to help her by showing her things that bring back memories for him. By doing this Miss Nancy is able to remember memories that are associated with the items that Wilfrid Gordon brought. This would be a great book to share with children, especially young children who might not know what a memory is. Through this book they could learn what memories are and why they are so important.

The illustrations that are done in this book are quite interesting. There is pretty much no background to the illustrations, just a white page. I think this is done to draw attention to the characters and story instead of being distracted by other detail in the background. The characters drawn are very detailed in their clothing and look very soft. The colors that are used are soft, pastel, and almost looked washed out. This look adds to the peaceful and sweet feel of the book. I was definitely touched by this book and would recommend it to others.

A Chair for my Mother by Vera B. Williams

This is a very sweet story about a mother and daughter who are saving money to buy a chair. Their old chair was burnt in a house fire along with their other belongings they are forced to start over. The community around them pulls together to help them start over, however, they still don't have a chair. In order to buy a new chair the mother begins saving tips from her waitressing job so that they would someday be able to purchase a new chair. This is a story of persistence and hard work. This book is definitely a one I would share with a class. Through this story kids are able to see and understand that if they want something they might have to work and save for it. Patience and persistence pays off and the end result is worth everything that went into it.

The one thing that I loved about this book was it's vivid illustrations. Each page was filled with bright colors and details. Each illustration takes up the entire page and looks like a beautiful painting since there are visible brush strokes each illustration looks soft and blended. The illustrations and colors seem to capture the bright, cultural, urban environment in which the story takes place. I feel that the hopeful and positive tone of the book is reflected in the illustrations. That should be the point of illustrations to support the book and the tone that the author wanted to portray.