Picture Book #12--Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Title:  Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Author:  (retold by) Verna Aardema

Illustrator:  Leo and Diane Dillon

Grade Level Equivalent:  4.2

Lexile Measure:  770L

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Traditional Literature

Theme:  Gossip can come back to get you.

Primary and Secondary Characters:  the mosquito, Iguana, Python, Rabbit, Crow, Monkey, Owl, King Lion

Awards:  The Caldecott Medal (won, 1976)

Date of Publication:  1975

Publisher:  Penguin Group

ISBN:  0140545891

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears is a West African tale about a gossiping little mosquito who causes a lot of trouble in the jungle, which results in the death of a baby owlet.  After the death of her baby, the mother owl is so devastated that she cannot bear to wake the sun.  This results in a council meeting called by King Lion who gets to the bottom of the situation by calling on every member of the disturbance and getting his/her side of the story.  When it all is said and done, the mosquito is to blame but is nowhere to be found.  The end of the tale has a humorous moral with the fate of the mosquito. 

This is a classic book that has a place in any classroom.  It would be great to read to children even if just to expose them to other culture's and their folktales.  It can give children a look into how the people of West Africa got their legends and it tells why the people believe mosquitoes buzz in peoples' ears in a very humorous way.  I can remember reading it when I was young and my daughter enjoys the story today.  It has a really good moral that often goes unheard.  All in all, it is a great story that children will love to hear and/or read themselves and the illustrations are very vibrant and fun to look at.

Picture Book #11--Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers

Title:  Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers

Author:  Laura Numeroff

Illustrator:  Joe Mathieu

Grade Level Equivalent:  1.7

Lexile Measure:  N/A

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Fantasy
Theme:  Use your imagination!

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Various animals

Awards:  Maryland Children's Book Award (Won, 1996)
Date of Publication:  1993

Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc

ISBN:   0689808747

Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers is a silly story about the imagination.  It features dogs in sneakers, Siamese cats in dresses, bears taking a bath, dancing cows, swimming hens, and skiing yaks, among other things.  It is a very silly book that kids will absolutely love for it's humor.  The story rhymes so it flows nicely.  The illustrations are bright and colorful.  I think this book would be a great addition to any classroom because it is something that students will love to read and it has words that are easy to pronounce and follow.  Also, the end message is something that will stick with students: always use your imagination.  This would be a great book to read to students that can be a precursor to a creative writing assignment wherein students use their imagination to create a silly story of their own.  This will help to build up their writing skills, vocabulary usage (I could even have them incorporate their vocabulary words into the story for added practice), and require them to think and be creative.

Picture Book #10--Aliens in Underpants Save the World

Title:  Aliens in Underpants Save the World

Author:  Claire Freedman

Illustrator:  Ben Cort

Grade Level Equivalent:  N/A

Lexile Measure:  N/A

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Fantasy

Theme:  Fun and humor

Primary and Secondary Characters:  the aliens

Awards:  N/A

Date of Publication:  2009

Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc 

ISBN:  978-0-545-45164-2

Aliens in Underpants Save the World tells the story of aliens who come to earth to steal our underpants.  One day they discover that a meteorite is heading straight to Earth.  Fearing their underpants supply will disappear they quickly head to earth, steal a whole bunch of underpants, sew them together and use them to catch the meteorite and bounce it back into outer space.  It is a fun book with lots of bright, colorful illustrations and a funny story that young students will love.  The words also rhyme so it provides a nice rhythm throughout the story.  This is definitely a book that children will enjoy.

As for classroom use, this would be great for a science fiction or fantasy writing assignment.  They could think of and write stories based on the follow-up of the book.  For example they could write about how the people of earth payed the aliens back for saving them.  Any type of creative writing assignment could be used for this.  They could come up with their own story involving aliens.  Anything to get students using their imaginations and being creative would help to incorporate this story into the class curriculum.

Picture Book #9--A Bad Case of Stripes

Title:  A Bad Case of Stripes

Author:  David Shannon

Illustrator:  David Shannon

Grade Level Equivalent:  3.5

Lexile Measure:  AD540L
Genre:  Children's Literature
Subgenre:  Fantasy
Theme:  Be true to yourself.
Primary and Secondary Characters:  Camilla Cream, the Doctors, the old woman
Awards:  Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (Nominated, 2002)
California Young Reader Medal (Nominated, 2001)
Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominated, 2001)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Won, 2002)
Show Me Readers Award (Nominated, 2000)
Washington Children's Choice Picture Book (Nominated, 2001)

Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Won, 2000)

North Carolina Children's Book Award (Won, 2002)

Beehive Children's Picture Book Award (Won, 2000)

Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominated, 2000)

Golden Archer Award (Wisconsin) (Won, 2000)

Great Lakes' Great Books Award (Won, 2001)

Maryland Children's Book Award (Won, 2003)

Emphasis on Reading Award (Won, 2000)

Treasure State Award (Won, 1999)

Date of Publication:  1998

Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc

ISBN:  0590929976

A Bad Case of Stripes tells the story of Camilla Cream, a girl who loves lima beans but is too embarrassed to admit it.  After a while of not eating her favorite food, Camilla comes down with a bad case of the stripes.  They start as rainbow but change to patriotic red, white, and blue with stars, to purple polka dot, and then eventually Camilla evolves to become "one with her room".  After a sweet, old lady comes in with the cure--which just happens to be a handful of lima beans--Camilla returns to normal, never to be embarrassed by who she is again.

This would be a great book for students to read with a message of staying true to who you are no matter what that is presented in a fun, humorous way.  Children will love the crazy, bright, and colorful illustrations presented as only David Shannon can do.  The story is so fun and funny that students will want to read this over and over.  In the classroom, students can use this story to come up with their own thoughts about how this type of "disease" would affect them.  How would you feel if you came down with a case of the stripes?  Would you hide from your friends or be proud to be so colorful and extraordinary?  Students could have fun writing about how they would react with this experience.  They could draw pictures to go along with their story and share it with the class.  I think this book would be a fun one to read prior to a writing assignment, as there are so many ways students can be creative with it.

Picture Book #8--Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

Title:  Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

Author:  Doreen Cronin

Illustrator:  Betsey Lewin

Grade Level Equivalent:  1.3

Lexile Measure:  160L

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Fantasy

Theme:  Don't take advantage of the small things.

Primary and Secondary Characters:  the Cows, Farmer Brown, the Hens, the Ducks

Awards:  Caldecott Medal (Nominated, 2001)

Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (Nominated, 2002)

California Young Reader Medal (Nominated, 2003)

Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominated, 2003)

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominated, 2002)

Show Me Readers Award (Nominated, 2003)

Washington Children's Choice Picture Book (Nominated, 2002)

Georgia Children's Picture StoryBook Award (Nominated, 2003)

Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Won, 2002)

Bluegrass Award (Nominated, 2003)

North Carolina Children's Book Award (Nominated, 2002)

Arizona Young Reader's Award (Nominated, 2002)

Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award (Nominated, 2003)

Beehive Children's Picture Book Award (Nominated, 2002)

Book Sense Book of the Year (Nominated, 2001)

Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominated, 2002)

Golden Archer Award (Wisconsin) (Nominated, 2002)

Golden Sower Award (Nominated, 2003)

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year (Won, 2000)

Charlotte Zolotow Award (Nominated, 2001)

Georgia Children's Book Award (Nominated, 2003)

American Library Association Notable Books for Children (Won, 2001)

Great Lakes' Great Books Award (Nominated, 2002)

Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books (Won, 2000)

ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards (Won, 2001)

Maryland Children's Book Award (Nominated, 2002)

New York State Charlotte Award (Won, 2002)

Red Clover Award (Won, 2002)

Treasure State Award (Nominated, 2002)

Date of Publication:  2000

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

ISBN:   0689832133

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is a cute book about cows that come across an old typewriter stored in their barn.  With this new find they decide to ask for some things that have been lacking around the farm, much to the dismay of the farmer.  This would be a great book to have in a classroom.  It's humorous and will keep kids interested.  I can see it being one of those books that children wait in line to read.  The idea of cows that type is very funny, especially when the cows are using the typewriter to ask for things that you normally wouldn't think of.  And I'm sure there will be kids that will reading this book just to find out what in the world a typewriter is!

This book can be used in the classroom in much of the same way we used it in Reading 4050-13.  Students can use their imagination to write a note to Farmer Brown from the cows or other animals in the barnyard.  Students can be creative, thinking about what animals ask for which off-the-wall item.  They can draw pictures to go along with their notes and we could hang them around the classroom to show off how creative the students can be.

Chapter Book #4--Alone in the Night

Title:  Alone in the Night

Author:  Holly Webb

Illustrator:  Sophy Williams

Grade Level Equivalent:  2.6

Lexile Measure:  790L

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Realistic Fiction

Theme:  The responsibility involved in taking care of a pet.

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Jasmine, Star, Jasmine's parents, Andy, Helen

Awards:  N/A

Date of Publication:  2009

Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN:  0545325765

Alone in the Night is a story about a little girl, Jasmine, who befriends the neighbors’ cat, Star.  Jasmine’s parents won’t let her have a cat of her own even though she desperately wants one.  Their friendship begins by Star climbing through a hole in the fence to play with Jasmine after school each day.  By the time Christmas is approaching, Star’s owners, Andy and Helen, tell Jasmine that they are going out of town for three weeks and they would like her to watch over Star while they are gone.  Jasmine’s parents agree and Star comes over to stay with them while her owners are on vacation.  At first, Jasmine’s parents are not thrilled about the prospect of having a cat in the house but eventually, Star wins them over.  After several days, Star begins to act differently.  She starts sleeping all day, she is cranky and just wants to be left alone, and she’s starting to get a little pudgy.  Jasmine became worried about the cat and started hovering over her trying to figure out what was wrong.  Eventually, Star decided she had to get out and find a quiet place to rest with no people.  So, she climbed under the fence and through the cat flap at her owners’ house and nestled into a small linen closet.  The next day, after frantically searching for Star, Jasmine finds her curled up in the linen closet—with two baby kittens at her side.  Excited, Jasmine ran back to tell her mother.  When Andy and Helen returned home, they were surprised to see that they were now the owners of three kittens.  As a thank you for taking such good care of Star, Helen gives Jasmine one of the kittens to keep for her very own.

This is a cute book aimed at younger readers.  It is told from the standpoint of Jasmine, a young girl in love with a cute little kitten.  I would definitely have this book in my classroom, probably more for independent reading than for any type of assignment.  It would be a good book to have that would mainly appeal to young girls and capture their attention.

Chapter Book #3--Morning Girl

Title:  Morning Girl

Author:  Michael Dorris

Illustrator:  Cover--Christine Kettner

Grade Level Equivalent:  6.3

Lexile Measure:  980L

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Historical Fiction

Theme:  Blood is thicker than water.

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Morning Girl, Star Boy, mother--She Wins the Race, father--Speaks to Birds

Awards:  Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Date of Publication:  1992

Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN:  0590995006

Morning Girl is a story that follows two Native American children, Morning Girl and her brother Star Boy, in the days before Christopher Columbus’ arrival.  The story is told from the perspective of both Morning Girl and Star Boy with each chapter alternating narrators.  It begins with the way in which Morning Girl got her name—she loves waking up early every morning before dawn and experiencing all that nature has to offer when people are not awake and disturbing it.  Star Boy, (who was previously known as “Hungry” due to his ferocious appetite) received his name from his father because he is the exact opposite of Morning Girl.  He loves to lay awake at night and stare at the stars, thinking quietly to himself in the dead of night while everyone else sleeps.  One day, Morning Girl and Star Boy’s mother informs them that she is pregnant and they will soon have a baby sister.  But it was not to be, as only a few days later the mother goes way to her mother’s house to deal with the aftermath of having a miscarriage.  A few days later, a massive hurricane hits the island they live on, destroying houses and causing damage all around the area.  Star Boy gets swept up by the wind while his parents and sister look on, frantically trying anything to get to him.  As his father tries to reach him, Star Boy is finally able to grab hold of the biggest tree on the island, the tree where the spirits of those who have passed on live, and seek refuge from the storm.  He survives and is excited that he now has a harrowing tale to tell his relatives. 

Star Boy struggles to shed his childhood identity of “Hungry” while Morning Girl attempts to reconcile the fact that she cannot see herself to know what she looks like and wonders constantly about this.  She also struggles with being the oldest child and being a big sister to Star Boy, who is the typical, aggravating little brother. 

As the book ends, Morning Girl is taking one of her early morning swims when she notices a canoe coming towards her.  The people look different and are wearing shiny “rocks” on their heads.  When she speaks to them and tries to be friendly to them they do not understand her.  She runs to get her mother and father to help her properly welcome these newcomers, not knowing what is really happening.  The book ends with an excerpt from Christopher Columbus’ diary detailing the experience of meeting the natives for the first time.

I think that this would be a great book for children to read when learning about Native Americans and/or Christopher Columbus.  It is not very long so students will not get bored with it and it is actually a very captivating story.  It is told from the perspective of two separate children so students will be able to relate to the story and its narrators very well.