Graphic Novel Post #3

Title: The Adventures of Polo
Author: Regis Faller
Lauren's Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

The Adventures of Polo is a wordless book about a playful dog, Polo. He takes a unique and enchanting journey that take him under the ocean, to a tropical island and to space! He returns home with the new friends he met along with way and writes all about his adventures!

This book was adventurous and fun! The images were drawn with ink and the pages had a glossed finish. This made the images brighter and more appealing to the eye. The story is followed through only the images. The dog gets through obstacles and finds the joy in going on such an amazing adventure! The only negative aspect of the book is it's size. It is quite a large book and children would not be able to hold it on their own. However, with that being said, it would be a good book to read with a parent or another student. The adventures that the dog encounters show that imagination is endless and if are creative, you can achieve anything! This is an phenomenal book that captivates its audience with its crystal clear images and crazy adventure stories!

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication date: 2002
ISBN: 1-59643-160-1

Graphic Novel Post #2

Title: Otto's Orange Day
Author: Frank Cammuso & Jay Lynch
Lauren's Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Otto's Orange Day is a story about a cat named Otto who loves the color orange. His aunt gives him a lamp that contains a genie. When asked what wish we wants to make, he decides to turn the entire world orange. Unfortunately he realizes that foods do not taste good and traffic lights are causing accidents! Otto and his aunt help to un-do his wish and the world goes back to normal. Otto realizes how beautiful all of the colors are.

This beautifully illustrated toon book is great! The book contained three short chapters that helped guide the reader through what was happening in the book. It is a small sized book, which makes it easier for a child to hold. The main character is a cat who can be related to a young child. The story is very interesting and unusual. It makes you want to find out what happens in the end faster! The illustrations are great with the use of different shades of orange. In the end, there is an explosion of colors on the pages. The pages had more text and illustrations on them. The story was easy to follow and it gave extra detail to the character. I would recommend this book to young children, teachers and parents. This would also be a good book to introduce children to this graphic novel style.

Publisher: The Little Lit Library
Publication date: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9799238-8-3

Graphic Novel Post #1

Title: Benny and Penny in Just Pretend
Author: Geoffrey Hayes
Lauren's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Benny and Penny in Just Pretend is a story about an older brother, Benny, who does not want to play with his little sister, Penny. Unlike what Benny thought, the toon book goes on to show that Penny is very brave and not annoying! In the end, Benny realizes that his little sister is very important to him and they play together.

This book was excellent. Not only was it realistic, but it was relatable and contains a good message. The message is that your siblings are very important and you should treat them nicely. This is a perfect message for young readers who think that their siblings just get in their way. I have never been a fan of graphic novels, but the pages were not crowded and there was an equal distribution of illustrations and words. This made the book very easy to read and to follow the plot-line. The sentences were short and the graphics were drawn with colored pencils. I liked this book a lot and I would recommend this to young readers!

Publisher: The Little Lit Library
Publication date: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9799238-6-9

Poetry Post #3

Title: The Napping House
Author/Illustrator: Audrey Wood & Don Wood

Lauren's Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Napping House is a poem about a house where all of its inhabitants are sleeping. On the bed, a sleeping grandmother, child, dog, cat, mouse and flea are found snoozing. Then the flea awakens that bites the mouse, who wakes everyone else in the bed up!

This New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book awarded book was adorable. This poem was my favorite out of all the others. Not only did the text rhyme, but it was repetitive. This made the book appropriate for very young audiences! The poem is simple but it captures the audience's attention. The illustrations are detailed and fit the text perfectly. The colors that were used matched the tempo of the house. When everyone was sleeping, the use of blues were evident. While, when they all awakened, their is a rainbow of colors that splash the page. The text on each page was kept to a minimum and it was a very fun and interesting poem that I believe others would love. I recommend this book to all children, for teachers to use for an introduction to poetry, and parents to read to their very young ones.

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication date: 1984
ISBN: 0-15-256708-9

Poetry Post #2

Title: Dirt on My Shirt
Author: Jess Foxworthy
Lauren's Rating: 4 out of 5

Dirt on My Shirt is a poem about a boy who enjoys going outside. He gets dirt, leaves and mud all over himself. However, he still loves to feel the sun on his skin and breathe in the fresh air!

Within the book, there contains several short poems. Although this poem was very short, it got to the point! The illustrations were sketches that were very colorful. I love the way he filled the page with color! The text was centered in clear, large font. This makes it easier to read the poem. Poetry can sometimes be tricky for children to grasp. I felt as if the author did a great job incorporating the poetry into the book, without losing the other great qualities of children's books! I would definitely recommend this book to children and parents!

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-129847-8

Poetry Post #1

Title: The Missing Piece
Author: Shel Silverstein
Lauren's Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Missing Piece is a story about an object that believes it is missing the rest of itself. It goes on a search and after many trials, the object finds the perfect piece. They roll away together, only for the object to find that it cannot be itself with this piece. It realizes that the piece was not what was important about his journey!

This story used a single line where a half of a circle was drawn onto, that was interacting with other objects along its journey. The imagery was simple with only a marker used to draw the basic objects. The story was a little bit confusing in the beginning, because it was hard to figure out what the object was and what it means that it was missing a piece. However, the text is basic, with only one or two words on a few pages. The story gives a good message that when you are too busy searching for something in life, you will pass by all the little things that are full of meaning on the way. The overall message of the story was my favorite part. This is a good book for children that want to follow the circle, but it is not a good book for children that would get bored easily. There are no colors and it is not an exciting book. Therefore, I would recommend this book for parents to read to children. They could elaborate to the children what the meaning of the book is.

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 1976
ISBN: 0-06-025671-0

Historical Fiction Post #3

Title: Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece
Author/Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Lauren's Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece is about a young girl who is terrified to speak in front of an audience. Her teacher tells her to join in on the drama class. Mr Wayne, the drama teacher, tells her to let the play take her and not to focus on everyone else. He believed in her and when she went out on stage, she delivered her lines and did an amazing job without any problems!

This story is relatable to every person at any age. The way that the book resolves the children's fear is incredible. The teacher believed in her and gave her a chance for success, which in turn, made her believe in herself. The illustrations are unusual, in that, the sketch marks are still left on the page. The pencil marks show the fear in the child's face in the beginning of the book and toward the end, the illustrator used her pencil drawings to elicit confidence. The illustrations are very detailed and you could spend five minutes looking at each individual page. The text was longer but it did not use difficult language.
The message in the book is appropriate for the audience. I did some research and it turns out that the book was written about herself. The author had a fear of public speaking and this true story is how she overcame her fears! Children could read this book and become more confident in their abilities. I would recommend this to all advanced readers, parents and teachers. This book should be read in all classrooms.

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date: 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16095-0