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

Historical Fiction Post #2

Title: Mouse Island
Author/Illustrator: Eve Bunting & Dominic Catalano
Lauren's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Mouse Island is a story about a mouse who lived alone on an island. He felt empty and one day that emptiness disappeared when he rescued a cat on a ship from drowning. The two animals became best friends and lived on the island together.

This was a very cute and easily understood story. The minimal text and number of words on every page is appealing. The illustrations were incredible. There was so much detail incorporated into the pictures. The colors used made the pictures come to life. I liked the idea of an unlikely friendship because the mouse was nice to the cat, even though he knew he could eat him. That concept goes along well with the concept of not judging a book by its cover. Mouse Island is a real island located in Ohio. The island was inhabited once before by a lighthouse keeper and his wife. Now, no one lives there. The story could easily be read to a classroom of children or for individual reading.


Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
Publication date: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59078-447-1

Historical Fiction Post #1

Title: That's What Leprechauns Do
Author/Illustrator: Eve Bunting/ Emily Arnold McCully
Lauren's Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

That's What Leprechauns Do is a story about three mischievous leprechauns that are on a mission to put a pot of gold under a rainbow. Along their journey, they find different ways to create trouble, such as painting a cow's hooves red and putting a tennis ball underneath a hen, as an egg! When the rain subsides and they reach the rainbow, they put a pot of gold underneath it. They sit around and wait for a person to come and find it; which no one ever does.

This was a great story. The legend that there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow was something I was always told as a child. This creative story was humorous and interesting. The illustrations were extraordinary with the use of watercolors. The landscape, which took place in Ireland, looked as real as the Irish country looks now. Even the way the leprechauns talked was accurate for an Irishman. Another accurate depiction in the book was the weather. It rains a lot in Ireland and when the rain subsides, a rainbow always appears. This story was brilliantly told and is very creative. The last page of the book included a brief, "about leprechauns" section that I thought was very appropriate. The story included more complicated text and the story was meant for an older audience of children. However, I would recommend this book to every child and to their parents to read to them if they cannot. This is a great book for Irish children to learn about a part of their culture and for other children to learn more about the mischievous Irish.

Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication date: 2005
ISBN: 0-618-35410-7

Informational Texts Post #3

Title: Penguin Chick
Author/Illustrator: Betty Tatham & Helen K. Davie
Lauren's Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Event though this book is an information text, it is written as a story. The mother and father penguin both take care of their egg and soon-to-be baby penguin. They describe the life cycle of the penguin as well as what happens with the parents while they wait for two months for the egg to hatch.

I liked this book a lot. Not only did it provide information, but it did so in a creative and interesting manner. The book is still a story and the illustrations were painted in watercolor. There is more text on each page, but the lettering is big and the pictures help describe the story. The colors that were used in the story are amazing. They used the black and white colors for the penguin. They used colorful pinks and blues for the landscape. The story is easy to comprehend and it includes the jobs of the parents when an egg is formed. I liked that the book showed the life cycle of the penguin. This book showed that it is possible to write an informational text that is intriguing and contains somewhat of a plot. I would recommend this book to all children that could read. It is a book that helps teach children while it enhances their reading abilities. I overall thought this was the best informational text I have read!

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 2002
ISBN: 0-06-028594

Informational Texts Post #2

Title: The Respiratory System

Author: Kay Manolis
Lauren's Rating: 2.8 out of 5 stars

This informational text talks all about the respiratory system. It describes the mechanisms of breathing, coughing and sneezing. It also explains the process of oxygen going into the body and carbon dioxide leaving the body.

This book was made for young children. It has very appealing colors, uses children as the pictures, and includes very short, simple sentences. The illustrations are photographs that are clear and of good quality. The content is challenging in itself, but the author made it easily readable and accessible for kids. It uses photographs of children and normal bodily functions, such as coughing, to help children be able to relate to this system. There is a glossary at the end of terms that can be utilized by the children. This is a great learning tool. This book would be great to use in a science class or to direct a child to read for more important about this system.

Publisher: Bellwether Media
Publication date: 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60014-246-8

Informational Texts Post #1

Title: Platypuses
Author: Rebecca Hirsch
Lauren's Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This informational text is all about platypuses. It talks about their life cycle, compares them to other animals, and describes the foods that they eat. It describes all of the characteristics of a platypus and explains why it is considered a mammal. Finally, it describes where the platypuses live and fun facts about them.

This is a book that does not consist of a story, but rather, describes different features of platypuses. It is directed towards children because of its excessive use of pictures, different colors, and fun facts on each page. The book has chapters. This could help children look up the information that they need for a project for school or help them if they wanted to locate something specific about this animal. The pictures in the book are real photographs of the animal. The book goes into great detail of this animal as well. The one aspect of the book that I liked the most was the fact that they compared platypuses to all sorts of other animals, such as beavers, giraffes, and otters. The comparison charts would be very helpful for a child. It would help a child differentiate different animals. This in turn would make learning easier. I would recommend this book to an older child that wants to learn more about platypuses or to a child that has to do a report on this animal.

Publisher: Lerner
Publication date: 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-5581-8