Book #1- Fantasy

Title: Bedtime Monsters

Author and Illustrator: Josh Schneider

Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication Date: 2013

ISBN #: 978-0-544-00270

Brief Summary: This is an adorable story about a little boy who is scared to go to bed at night because of the monster that comes out and bites toes. The monster comes out and turns out to be just as scared of monsters as the little boy is. Soon the little boys bed is filled with monsters who are all scared of monsters too! The little boy scares all the monsters away and is finally able to get a good night sleep. 

Evaluation: I had high expectations for this book because the cover says that it was a winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. This book met my expectations and then some! I think it has a great moral for little kids who are afraid of monsters at night like I was when I was little. The moral is that there is nothing to be afraid of. The illustrations were cute and made the monsters alot less scary than they sounded. I recommend this book to all young readers. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 monsters under the bed. 

Book #3- Realistic Fiction

Title: Odd Velvet

Author: Mary E. Whitcomb
Illustrator: Tara Calahan King

Publisher: Chronicle Books
Publication Date: 1998

ISBN #: 0-8118-2004-1

Brief Summary: This story is about a girl named Velvet who everyone at school thinks is a little odd. Velvet has an odd rock collection, gives the teacher odd first day of school gifts and wears odd clothes. As the children get to know Velvet, they see that she is a talented painter, throws fun birthday partys and is really nice. They realize that Velvet isn't so odd after all!

Evaluation: This is a story with a great moral for young children. It teaches them to give the kids that they think are odd a chance and really get to know them before they judge them. This is a problem that leads to bullying in schools and I really like that the author chose to write about such an important topic. Also, the book was written in 1998 but I couldn't tell. I figured it was written more recently because the picutres don't look outdated at all. This is still a very relevant message for kids that they can still relate to and learn from.

Rating: 4 out of 5 crayons.

Book #2- Realistic Fiction

Title: Oma's Quilt

Author: Paulette Bourgeois
Illustrator: Stephane Jorisch

Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: 2001

ISBN #: 1-55074-777-0

Brief Summary: This is a heartwarming story about a little girls Oma who is moving out of her home on Maple Street and into a nursing home. Oma does not like the nursing home and misses her old home. The little girl and her mother make Oma a quilt filled with her favorite things from Maple Street and it makes Oma feel happier and more at home.

Evaluation: As soon as I saw the title of this book I knew I had to read it. I have an Oma as well, this means Grandma in German. A lot of the characteristics of the Oma in the story are identical to my own Oma like how she saves a lot of sentimental items and makes amazing strudel. This story talkes about a problem that I think lots of elderly people go through, moving out of the house they've lived in for years and into a nursing home must be a big change and an emotional roller coaster. I think this story portrays the feelings that those elderly people must go through very well. I absolutely loved this story and for all the people who have Oma's of their own I know this book will touch a special place in your heart like it did for me.

Rating: 5 out of 5 quilts!

Book #1- Realistic Fiction

Title: Winter Is Coming

Author: Tony Johnston
Illustrator: Jim LaMarche

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division
Publication Date: 2014

ISBN #: 978-1-4424-7253-2

Brief Summary: This book is about a girl who is witnessing nature changing and taking note of how all the animals around her are getting ready for winter time.  She sees all kinds of animals like fox, rabbits, geese, and deer. All of the animals prepare for winter in different ways.

Evaluation: This was a beautifully written and illustrated book. The illustrations portrayed such a detailed and realistic picture of what nature looks like as the seasons change. The animals were all drawn with such care and looked gentle and loving (which is how I suspected the author wanted nature to seem). The formatting of the words looked like poetry where there were specific line breaks or what seemed like predetermined amounts of words per each line. This story really exemplified the beauty of nature and I strongly recommend teachers to read this to their elementary school students.

Rating: 4 falling leaves

Book #3- Fairytales, Folktales, Myths and Legends

Title: Clay Boy

Author: Mirra Ginsburg
Illustrator: Jos. A. Smith

Publisher:Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: 1997

ISBN #: 0-688-14409-8

Brief Summary: This story was about a boy made out of clay by a grandma and grandpa. The clay boy was so hungry that he ate everything and everyone in the village except for a little goat who was able to outsmart him. The goat rammed into the clay boys belly and caused everything that he had eaten to come flying out. The people from the village, grandma and grandpa were all saved thanks to the goat.

Evaluation: This story is the same kind of story that my grandma used to tell me when I was little in that it was completely unrealistic and a little scary, but had a good ending. The illustrations were of good quality and had lots of texture to them. However, I would not recommend this book to younger readers because it might scare them. I don't think they need to be reading books about people getting eaten. The ending showed how this story came about, it was told by someones grandparent and then the story was told to younger generations. I love when families pass down stories like this because it leaves a small memory behind of the first family member to tell the story.

Rating: 2 balls of clay.

Book #2- Fairytales, Folktales, Myths and Legends

Title: Little Pierre A Cajun Story from Louisiana

Author: Robert D. San Souci
Illustrator: David Catrow

ISBN #: 0-15-202482-4

Publisher: Harcourt Inc.
Publication Date: 2003

Brief Summary: This story is about a boy named Little Pierre who showed his brothers that although he was the smallest, he had the biggest heart, the most bravery and brains. Little Pierre was able to free Mary Louise from the swamp giant and keep his dimwitted brothers out of trouble. The story ends with Little Pierre winning a reward for saving Mary Louise and living with her on a farm.

Evaluation: I thought this book was absolutely incredible. Not only was the story line enticing, but the illustrations were so creative and beautifully drawn. The colors popped out at you and all the the illustrations had such exaggerated detail which made it more fun to read. I could tell that this was a story from Louisiana because there were slang words and phrases used only in that part of the country. Also, the characters ate Gumbo and lived by a swamp, these things are also common in Louisiana. I eventually found myself reading this with a Louisiana like accent because of the slang words that were included. This book also celebrated the underdog which I always enjoy. Little Pierre is definitely a Louisiana tale that all families should read together.

Rating: 5 bowls of Gumbo!

Book #1- Fairytales, Folktales, Myths and Legends

Title: The Princess and The Pea (part of the "Fairy Tale Classics" series)

retold by Dandi of the Fairy Tale Classics 
no illustrator noted

Publication Date: 1996
Publisher: Landoll Inc. 

ISBN #: 1-56987-514-6

Brief Summary: This is a classic fairy tale about a princess who seeks shelter from a storm in another castle. In this castle is a prince who falls in love with this princess and his mother and father (the king and queen). The queen tries to prove that this girl was not a princess by sticking a pea under her mattress but her plan failed and the prince and princess lived happily ever after. 

Rating: 3 crowns 

Evaluation: I know this story well and enjoyed reading it again after many years. This book really is a classic and timeless fairy-tale. The idea that a princess can feel a pea under her mattress while a "peasant" cannot is a completely unrealistic idea. However, I think that is why this story is considered a "fairy-tale". Much like David Wiesner's illustrations, the plot and story line are out of this world and magical. I also noted that the words were all rhyming. This makes it easier for young children to read. One thing I thought was interesting was the way the characters were drawn, especially the princess. They had realistic curves and were more on the chubby side. They were not unrealistically skinny the way princesses are drawn in today's movies, TV shows and children's books. This shows the difference in the 90's idea of a princess compared to today's view of what a princess should look like. I think this is a very good message to children (especially little girls) that they can still be beautiful like a princess and not be super skinny. 

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