What an Imaginative Dog!

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The Adventures of Polo

by Regis Faller

published by Roaring Brook Press, 2002

Summary: "Polo the dog sets out from his home and enjoys many adventures, including sailing his boat on top of a whale, roasting hot dogs over a volcano, and taking a ride in a spaceship built from a mushroom."

Strengths: This book by a French author presents an imaginative story of a dog who travels to many interesting places. I like how Polo meets a variety of characters along the way who all return at the end of the book as he is reading a book called "Polo". All of the little things that Polo does, such as cooking hot dogs over lava and making his boat into a plane are all things that children could imagine doing. The pictures are bright and fun!


Concerns: I have no concerns about this book, as long as it is read by an appropriate age group. Older children may become bored of the book since it has many random elements.


Classroom Use/Other Comments: Teachers could use this book to introduce wordless books. Older students could write their own story to go along with the pictures. Ages 3 to 8 would enjoy reading this book.

A Glamorously Guilty Mouse

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Lily's Purple Plastic Purse

by Kevin Henkes

published by Greenwillow Books, NY, 1996

Summary: "Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later."

Strengths: This fun fantasy about a great mouse teacher and his biggest fan, Lilly. Lilly's character is very strong and fun from her red boots with a star to her vibrant dresses.
I like that the pictures do not take up the whole page and that a series of pictures show her action. I also like the dialogue that takes place in the pictures and the way that the text is in a variety of places. The book has very funny parts and really shows different emotions.

Concerns: I have no concerns about this book as long as it is read by an appropriate audience.


Classroom Use/Other Comments: Children aged 4-8 would enjoy the book. Teachers could read the book to discuss apologizing, guilt, and other feelings.

Sea-like Celadon

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A Single Shard

by Linda Sue Park

published by Yearling, 2001

Summary: "An orphan boy in a twelfth-century Korean potters' village... lives with Crane-man under a bridge, barely surviving on scraps of food. All of that changes when Tree-ear sees master potter Min making his beautiful pottery."


Strengths: This beautifully written book tells a lot about Korean culture and life in Korea in the twelfth-century. The friendship and bond between Crane-man and Tree-ear is apparent through their conversations and discussions of meaningful messages, such as taking things one step at a time. The messages of the problems with pride and the benefits of facing challenges is seen. The journey of Tree-ear as he works for Min and learns about making pots is also very fascinating. Tree-ear is a good character to whom readers can relate because of his optimistic and curious nature.


Concerns: The treatment of Tree-ear and Crane-man before Tree-ear begins working for Min may be a concern to some readers. The presence of death in the novel is also a concern.


Classroom Use/Other Comments: This book is appropriate for ages 10 and up. Children would enjoy reading this on their own and teachers might read it to children in grades 4 and up. Teachers could use this book to examine Korean culture or the time period in which this book took place. The author's note at the end of this book provides a lot of useful information and the interview with the author is also very informative and interesting.

Watch Out for That NIMH Van

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Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

by Robert C. O'Brien

published by Aladdin Paperbacks, 1971

Summary: "Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma."

Strengths: This very interesting book of science fiction was entertaining, well-written, and captivating. The reader wants to continue reading to find out what will happen to Mrs. Frisby and her children. The very distinct characters have fun personalities that the reader gets to know very well. The sense of adventure and scheming makes this book a fun read. Importance of family, wisdom, and friendship are demonstrated throughout the book. The connection between the rats, mice, and humans adds an interesting twist that explains their intelligence and adds another level to the book.


Concerns: I wonder if children will be able to relate well to this book since Mrs. Frisby as the main character is older. I think that most children would be able to relate to her because she is an animal character. The ending of the book is not as conclusive as I would prefer, but leaves the ending up to the reader's imagination. The death of some of the rats may be a concern for some students.


Classroom Use/Other Comments: This book would be appropriate for ages 8-12. This would be an excellent book to read aloud to a class or for students to read individually. Teachers could use this book to examine plot because of the interesting and straightforward plot.

Quite A Character

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Stonewall

by Jean Fritz

with drawings by Stephen Gammell

published by Puffin, 1979

Summary: "A biography of the brilliant Southern general who gained the nickname Stonewall by his stand at Bull Run during the Civil War."

Strengths: I was not sure how I would feel about reading a book about a Confederate soldier. However, this book was very well written and presents Tom Jackson, later to be nicknamed "Stonewall" as an interesting and quirky character with an interesting life. A lot of the information is provided through contact between Tom and his sister, Laura, or his wife, Anna, as well as narration on the details of his life. Students reading this book will be interested to find out what happens next to Tom because of the descriptive way that the book is written. His oddities, such as following the same routine everyday at the exact same time, may be humorous to readers, but his behavior connected very well with some of the information I have learned recently in a psychology course. The setting of the book is also excellent for students to relate to if they live in Virginia or in areas in which Stonewall travels. The story of the Civil War is explained in an easy-to-understand manner and Stonewall's religious reason for supporting slavery provides a lot of insight into his character. Readers also learn a lot about other important people in the Civil War. How Tom approaches the challenges in his life will provide inspiration to readers.

Concerns: This book is about a war hero, so it may be considered violent for some children. However, the violence is not portrayed in a very morose way. There are some swear words in the book.

Classroom Use/Other Comments: This book would be appropriate for children aged 9-12. Teachers could have students read this during a unit on the Civil War or students could use this to do a project on a significant person in the Civil War.

A Tale of the Meaning of Love

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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

by Kate DiCamillo

illustrated by Bagram Ibatulline

published by Candlewick Press, 2006

Summary: "Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories."

Strengths: This beautifully, but simply written story tells an interesting tale with a wonderful message of the power of love. Children may be able to relate to both Edward, the rabbit, and Abilene, the girl who loves him. The simple pictures at the beginning of each chapter provide a clue to what will happen in the chapter. I also like the various full pages of color illustrations throughout the book. The dialogue and thoughts of the characters show some humor and show how Edward learns a lot from listening to the stories of the people he meets. I like that the book is wider than most books and that the text is very spaced out. The plot and how Edward moves from place to place keeps the story fast paced and keeps the reader's attention. I especially love the last chapter of the book and the coda.

Concerns: Edward learns about the lives of the people whom he meets, some of whom have very sad stories, such as death, homelessness, and abuse.


Classroom Use/Other Comments: Children aged 8 and up would enjoy this book. Teachers could begin with a picture walk to predict what will happen in the book. The simple text would allow upper elementary readers to read this by themselves and the book would also be excellent read aloud. Teachers could use this as an introduction to the journey of characters. A lot of interesting vocabulary is used in the book, so it can be used as a tool to expand vocabulary, with words such as "conquering (p. 61)" or "callused (p. 61)". In addition, as the number of days Edward is in each location is told, a math lesson could be incorporated in addition to discover how many days, weeks, months, and years have passed.

A Field Guide on Witches

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The Witches

by Roald Dahl

illustrated by Quentin Blake

published by Puffin Books, 1983

Summary: "Read this story and you'll find out all you need to know......the most gruesome, grotesque gang of witches imaginable!"

Strengths: I love pretty much all books by Roald Dahl, but The Witches was one of my favorite books as a child. As I re-read my worn-from-love copy of this great story, I remembered why I liked it so much. I like the introduction stating that the book is not a fairy tale, which really gets readers into the mindset of believing the funny and interesting young narrator, to whom young readers can relate with his curious nature. The story has a lot of humor with imaginative characters and an interesting storyline. I like the simple sketches that are placed throughout the book that complement the text, but also like that the text is descriptive enough that you can picture what is occurring.


Concerns: Some readers may be concerned with the content of witches itself if they have certain religious beliefs. In addition, the ideas presented in this book may be scary to children if they do not understand that the book is a fantasy.


Classroom Use/Other Comments: This book is great for children aged 8 and up. The book would be a great addition to a classroom library for individual reading or for a discussion on fiction. When looking for a picture of this book on amazon.com, I found that many of Dahl's books, including The Witches, have been converted into plays for children to perform. This would be a great way to work on fluency and presentation in the classroom.