Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

image from: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228696.Owl_Moon

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Published by Scholastic: 1987

Picture Book

1988 Caldecott Medal Winner

Summary:

A young girl is exciting to go on her first owling trip with her dad. She has heard stories from her older brothers about the outing and knows that must be followed when it is finally her turn to go along. She heads into the woods with her dad. They stop and her dad calls for an owl – no response. It is cold out, but the little girls keeps going, hope and excitement driving her. They come to a clearing and her dad calls out again. This time a response and before she knows it she is looking at a large beautiful evening. The owl leaves and so do they, walking home under the light of the owl moon.

Response:

I really enjoyed this story. There was something very simple about it that really appealed to me. The physical structure of the words initially threw me off, but soon enough I caught on. I often pictured myself as a little girl trudging through the snow following my dad on an adventure. The little girl’s message of hope created a very heart warming feeling inside of me.

For the Reader:

I would recommend this book for all ages. The younger readers may not be able to read the story for themselves, but it would still be a wonderful story to read to them.

Equal Shmequal by Virginia Kroll

image from: http://www.fun-books.com/mathematics.htm

Equal Shmequal by Virginia Kroll

Published by Charlesbridge Publishing: 2005

Picture Book

Summary:

After watching children play tug-of-war at recess mouse decides that she wants to play too! So she gather a bunch of her forest friends who want to play as well. They struggle to find a way to make equal teams. Meat eaters vs. plant eaters? Fur vs. no fur? Three vs. three? They find that none of these work. Finally they use the teeter totter to divide the teams by weight. It is a tough battle until bear is distracted by bees and honey allowing the other team to win.  

Response:

I really enjoyed this story. It is categorized as a math adventure and I can see why as it helps to illustrate what it means for something to be equal. As a future teacher this is definitely a book that I could use in my classroom. The pictures as also very appealing and well done and complement the story line well. At the end of the story there is also a little conclusion that explains what equal is in a more mathematical and formal way.

For the Reader:

I would recommend this story for children starting in kindergarten. At that age I would not use it for the mathematical lesson it is taught, but for the story itself. Even at a young age children can take playground applications of ‘equal’ away from the story that they can use.

For any teachers out there, this story would work well with introducing inequalities in Grade 4 with the Alberta curriculum.

The Boxcar Children #1: The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

image from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/gertrude-chandler-warner/boxcar-children.htm

The Boxcar Children #1: The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Published by Scholastic 1989

Novel

Summary:

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are orphans who have run away from the cruel grandfather. They find a bakery where they work in exchange for shelter. One day they overhear the owner talking about taking Benny to a boy’s home because he is young so the children again run away. They find an old abandoned boxcar in which they make their home. Henry goes into the city and works odd job to make money for food. They also find a stray dog whom they take in and name Watch as he is their watchdog. The children are getting by fine until Violet gets sick. They need to take her to a doctor so they take her to Dr. Moore who Henry has been helping. Dr. Moore read that the children’s grandfather was looking for them and was offering a reward to those who could help find him so Dr. Moore calls him. Not wanting to scare the children away again, the childrens grandfather calls himself Mr. Henry. The children come to like the old man and are shocked to find out he was their once mean grandfather. The children go back home with their grandfather and to their delight he moves the boxcar into their backyard.

Response:

After reading the baby-sitters club book I wanted to find a series that would be more appealing to both genders and came across The Boxcar Children. I quite enjoyed this book and liked how it would appeal to a variety of different readers due to the gender and age variety of the characters. Children running away and living in a boxcar is not super realistic though, and I would hope that reading this story would not make any child want to do so. Regardless, I empathized with the children and hoped that they would find a happy family, though I was surprised to find out it would be their grandfather.

For the Reader:

I would recommend this book for children starting at about grade two. It is a great chapter book series that would help early readers transition into longer chapter books. As previously mentioned I think that this book would appeal equally to boys and girls. The series continues on as a mystery series.

Similar to the Baby-Sitters Club I did a search and was again surprised to see that there were 127 books in this series and 21 Boxcar Children Specials. I do not recall hearing much about these books as a child so I was very surprised to see that there were so many.

The Babysitters Club #1: Kristy’s Great Idea by Ann M. Martin

image from: http://youarewhatyouread.scholastic.com/adults/pass-it-on/give/kristys-great-idea-ann-m-martin

The Babysitters Club #1: Kristy’s Great Idea by Ann M. Martin

Published by Scholastic: 1986

Novel

Summary:

Young Kristy sees her mom trying to find a babysitter for her little brother David Michael. While watching her mom make call after call Kristy comes up with a great idea – the babysitters club! Kristy, along with her friends makes up the club where parents call with the potential of four babysitters to possibly help. It sure beats making four different phone calls! Babysitting aside, the story also explores the everyday lives of the girls. Kristy’s mom is engaged and she is not sure how she feels about her future family. Between the babysitting club and everyday life these girls sure keep busy.

Response:

I never really read the Babysitter’s Club books as a young girl so I figured now was as good a time as ever to read them. It really is a nice, fun story that I think many girls would enjoy. The story itself is also quite realistic to the struggles and lives that girls today would have. With it being an older series the biggest thing children today reading the series would notice would be the lack of technology. This is not to say than technology is not found in the book, but it has a much smaller presence than we would see today. Personally, I think that is nice as it focuses the reader on the girls and their stories rather than being distracted by additions and the little things.

For the Reader:

I would recommend this book for readers starting around the grade three level. There is simplicity to this book that is really enjoyable and that I think young readers will be attracted to. The main characters in the story are all girls and as such, I strongly feel this book would be much more appealing to young girls than boys.

On a side note, out of curiosity I did a quick search to see how many books were in this series. The answer astounded me – 132! That number is only for the original series and does not include any of the Super Specials, Baby-sitters Club Mysteries, Super Mysteries, Special Edition Reader’s Request, Portrait Collections, or Baby-sitters Club Friends Forever. Talk about super series. Hopefully your child doesn’t get hooked on them or you could be spending a lot of money getting them through this series.

Bella’s Tree by Janet Russell

image from: http://letitread.blogspot.com/2009/11/book-mark-governor-generals-literary.html

Bella’s Tree by Janet Russell

Governor General’s Award Winner for Children’s Literature

Published by Groundwood: 2009

Picture Book

Summary:

Christmas is coming and Bella’s Nan is not in the happiest of moods. To cheer up her Nan, Bella convinces her Nan to let her go and cut down a Christmas tree. Bella is positive that this will make Nan happy. When Bella finds a nice alder she asks the birds in it if she can cut it down to use for a Christmas tree. The birds agree on the condition that Bella lets them come on Christmas and sit in the tree and sing. Bella agrees and brings the tree home to her. However, Nan tells Bella this is not the right tree. They decorate the tree anyways and Bella goes out to find a new tree. Nan says the same thing when Bella comes home with a spruce tree and pine tree. Finally Bella returns with the right tree – a fir – but they have used all the decorations. On Christmas morning the birds come and sit in the tree and sing creating the most beautiful Christmas tree ever.

Response:

I really enjoyed this story. The bond between the girl and her grandmother is very tender and I love how Bella is trying to make her Nan happy. I think it really shows the importance of grandparents and those older than us in our lives. Janet Russell is a Canadian author which adds some appeal to this book as I always enjoy reading books by Canadian authors. With the winter season coming the illustrations also have me looking forward to the snow that is coming.

For the Reader:

I would recommend this book for those in grade two to four. It is a picture book, but it has some nice themes in it and a more diverse vocabulary that I think would be more appreciated and understood by older children.

The only caution I would have for this book is that it does involve Christmas and the tradition of the Christmas tree which is not necessarily supported or followed by all.

The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson read by Natasha

image from: http://readingtomyself.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson read by Natasha

From: http://storynory.com/2006/03/04/the-princess-and-the-pea/

Audio Book

Summary:

This is the story of a prince looking for a princess. Not just any princess however, but a true princess. The Prince searches far and wide for a true princess to marry, but cannot find one. One day a girl shows up at the palace gate seeking shelter from the rain. She claimed to be a true princess, but the queen was not sure. To test the princess the queen placed a pea beneath twenty mattresses and twenty quilts. If the girl was a true princess she would feel the pea. The next morning the queen asked if the princess had slept well; the princess had not. So it was confirmed that she was a true princess and married the prince.

Response:

I have never really been interested by the story of the Princess and the Pea. It is not a typical fairy tale that one would expect. It is very short and sweet, but for the most point I just don’t get it. Since the girl is super sensitive this makes her a princess? Personally I really cannot make any sense of this. It has been a very long time since I have heard this story and I thought that now since I am apparently much older and wiser I would finally get it. Sadly, I still don’t.

For the Reader:

This particular audio book uses the old English language that would have been used in the time of Hans Christian Anderson. Since it is a different form of language to what we are used to today, it may be difficult for some young children to fully comprehend. Also, the lady who reads the story is British and has a definite British accent. This may compound with the old language to make it even more difficult for some children to understand. Personally, I loved the accent as I felt it added a regal feeling to the story, as if it were being read to a real princess or queen.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

image from: http://keriansthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/03/kate-dicamillo-miraculous-journey-of.html

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Published by Candlewick: 2006

Novel

Summary:Edward is a very exquisite and expensive porcelain rabbit owned by the young Abeline. Abeline loves Edward dearly. However, Edward is a very conceited rabbit and thinks of only himself and feels he is superior to others (toys and humans alike). Abeline and her family go on a vacation aboard a big ship and naturally Abeline brings Edward along. Tragically Edward is lost to the sea. He is finally recovered by a fisherman, who takes him home to his wife. Edward continues on his journey being disposed of and then found by someone. Through this journey Edward learns to love those who take care of him and much as they love him.

Response:

Overall, this was an alright book. I have read some of Kate DiCamillo’s books before and was truthfully expecting a little bit more out of this story.  It was not until the end of the story where Edward almost dies did I begin to develop a connection with the book. Personally, I find it much more difficult to relate to stories in which the main character is an inanimate object or something other than human. Nonetheless it is a heart warming tale of a conceited rabbit who learns to love.

For the Reader:

This story is quite a simple and easy read. I would recommend it for children in grade three or four.

If you are a teacher you may be interested in the accompanying teachers guide or readers’ theatre scripts for the novel. Check out the links below for more information!

http://www.edwardtulane.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Yny-zUwaGF0%3d&tabid=76

http://www.edwardtulane.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=mMUZUovpP-E%3d&tabid=77