How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Authors Steve Jenkins and Robin Page question the reader about their knowledge of six different animals and how they must find or catch food in order to survive in their habitats.

In the introductory page, the authors state: "there are millions of different kinds of animals, and they have come up with some ingenious solutions to these problems. See if you can figure out how the animals in these pages will snare a fish, hatch an egg, use a leaf, catch a fly, dig a hole, or eat a clam." The intro is closed by a statement to the reader that if he would like more information about the animals, that they will be able to find more facts in the back of the book.

The text of the question is the largest font size for each of the animals, while a "thumbnail" image of the images on the following pages is noted at the very bottom of the page. For example, the first question asks, "How many ways can you snare a fish?" Below the question it states a fact about fish and how they "have clever enemies, and most face the constant threat of being eaten by other animals."


Thumbnail images of a bear, eel, dolphin, matamata, diving beetle, and anhinga are at the bottom of the page. The pages following this question include larger illustrations of these thumbail images, with their specific names, the manner in which they capture the fish, and an illustration that depicts the "snaring" of the fish. "As salmon swim upstream to lay their eggs, a grizzly bear waits, it stands in teh rapids and grabs fish in midair as they leap from the water." "The matamata rests on the bottom of a lake or stream. When a fish comes near, it sticks out its neck, opens its mouth, an expands its throat. The sudden suction pulls the fish into the turtle's mouth."


Jenkins and Page creatively place the text to wrap around the animals and their surroundings, while creating a collage of answers to the question stated. The cut-and-torn paper collage images allow for close-up views of the animals, while making this picture book an eye-opening fact-based story that will fascinate children in a large or small group read-aloud.


The animals and their accompanying facts will provide even the most inquisitive readers with something to take away from the story. There are many animals in this story that I did not know existed before reading it. So I found myself taking the authors advice and discovering more information about the matamata or the white tent bats. However, a centralized theme is created among the animals in that although their approaches may be different, they all respond to their environment in a manner for survivial


The story encourages the readers to predict, confirm, clear up misconceptions, ask questions to themselves, and research what they still wonder about after reading. After all, isn't this what we want every time from our children when reading nonfiction? Illustrations that are visually exciting, topics that capture their interests, and prompting from the authors to answers to their continuing questions.

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah

Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abudullah's The Sandwich Swap tells the story of a friendship between Lily and Salma. The two are inseparable - playing together, laughing together, and sticky by each other's side, just as best friends usually do. It isn't until a lunch time incidient, in which Lily, eating her peanut butter sandwich, tells Salma that her pita and hummus sandwich basically looks gross. And so Salma returns the same opinion, claiming that Lily's peanut butter and jelly sandwich looks gross to her. One thing leads to another, and Lily and Salma continue to insult one another, not only criticizing their lunch options, but making comments about they way they look and they way they dress.

Students surrounding them take either Lily or Salma's side, resulting in a full-fledge food fight in the cafeteria. Once called to the principal's office, the girls finally wake up and realize that what they've done is completely wrong. They are ashamed of their behavior and how they could let this get in the way of their friendship.

The next day, Lily and Salma sample each other sandwiches. While their initial exchanges of the opposing sandwich was "gross" or "yucky," after sampling one another's they realized that they tasted pretty good - even DELICIOUS! The two friends return to the principal's office, this time with a full-bleed illustration of a buffet filled with various foods, with adorning flags depicting the coming together of some of our world's diverse ethnicities - some of these include Iceland, Greece, Mexico, United States, Jordan, etc).

In an author's note, Queen Rania explains that the book is inspired from a moment in her own chidhood. In an interview with Oprah, she states,

• QR: "I went to an international school, and I used to go every day, and at lunchtime I would proudly open my lunchbox and find my hoummous sandwich which my mother made me every day with lots of love, and you know, there's a dependable, tasty texture. So I unpack my sandwich and I see a girl sitting next to me and she's eating something horrible. It was just this gooey, pasty..."


• Oprah: "brown stuff..."


• QR: "...brown, purply stuff. And I really felt sorry for her. And then I thought that poor girl she doesn't have my delicious hoummous sandwich. So one day she offered me to take a bite and I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I kind of scrunched up my face, closed my eyes, and took a bite. And then I wanted to take another bite just to make sure I liked it. And then another, and that's when my love affair with peanut buttter started."


• Oprah: "Peanut Butter and Jelly."


• QR: "You know I was five years old so it's not like I drew any conscious lessons, but on a subconcious level I think I understood that I shouldn't fear the unknown. That I shouldn't judge something without trying it. That wonderful things can be found in even the strangest of places, and from that time onwards I stopped second guessing diversity but started embracing it. You know differences became part of the turf, adding texture and colour to one's life." (www.queenraniajo/media/interviews)

It is fascinating to find an author's childhood experiences come out in their stories. The theme of cultural tolerance and appreciation of diversity was the lesson that Queen Rania learned as a young girl growing up. Even though the story between Lily and Salma seemed to simple, it was more than just their sandwiches looking gross to one another; it was the hesitation in trying something different, while the sandwiches represented an underlying message to readers on what can happen when you open up your mind and heart to something unknown. You may surprise yourself with what you discover.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Author Maruice Sendak's Caldecott Honor Award-Winning picture book Where The Wild Things Are embodies the heart of childhood, and what a vivid imagination can create when dealing with the reality of the world. One night, Max is sent to bed without finishing his dinner, calling him "a wild thing." Max, unable to carry out his mischief in his wolf suit, is swept away by his imaginative spirit and journeys to the land of monsters.


"That very night in Max's room a forest grew -
and grew -
and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around
and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for max as he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are..."

Max is crowned "The King of Wild Things" upon his arrival to the land of monsters, and they all have a "wild rumpus." As the wild things are sent off to bed, Max begins to long for his home again and feels alone. He gives up being king of where the wild things are because of his yearning to feel love and comfort once again.

"and into the night of his very own room
where he found his supper waiting for him
and it still was hot."

As Sendak defended the critics to his story for it being too "frightening," in his acceptance speech for the Caldecott he stated, "despite adults' desire to protect children from painful experiences," "the fact is that from their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, that fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their every day lives, that they continually cope with frustration as best they can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming the Wild Things." (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/)

Max's character is someone that readers may be able to connect with; we all experience feelings of anger from time to time; but instead of acting upon those actions, he uses his imagination to free him from the stress of the situation. Although at first he enjoys being in this fantasy world, in the end he realizes that his place is to be at home, safe with his mother.

Sendak's story celebrates the power of a child's imagination, and emulates the realistic emotions and thoughts of children of yesterday and today. It allows for children to enter into a fantasy world with Max, and its through the simplistic text and story-telling illustrations, that readers come away with an understanding that it's okay to fantasize and discover a world hidden within your own bedroom.

"Sendak presents an image of children not as sentamentalized little dears but as people coping with complex emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, wonder, and awareness of their own vulnerability. This well-earned and reassuring happy ending for all children wrestling with human nature's darker emotions." ~ Children's Literature Review

It is through literature, and converstion within literature, that children and teachers, parents can discuss the emotions involved. Children need to know that it is okay to have these emotions but to know how to deal with them in an appropriate manner. Children will be able to relate, imagine, and enjoy the exploration of finding their individual wild sides, while being assured that its okay to have it!

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pickney

Jerry Pickney retells the original Aesop fable, The Lion and the Mouse. In his first wordless book, Pickney tells the story of a mouse, who, both exchange acts of kindness for one another.

"It did not start out, the intent was not for it be be wordless. As a matter of fact, I thought that this story was so clear in my mind that I would actually start the process of doing thumbnail sketches then adding the text later. So the story is visually narratively driven, and I think that's what you find in it. Not only telling the story of the lion and the mouse, but also the story of what attracted me to the Serengeti, the African Serengeti."
(http://www.readingrockets.org/)

Pickney's illustrations clearly demonstrate his wealth of knowledge of the Serengeti. His carefully sequenced images of the characters develop the closeness of their relationship, as the close-up images that are seen throughout note the lion and mouse as the protagonists of the story, as they appear to be realistic. In an author's note, Pickney explains that he set the story in the Serengeti, "with its wide horizon and abundant wildlife so awesome yet fragile, not unlike the two sides of each of the heroes."

Pickney's pencil work, coupled with the watercolor images create a characters that fit well into its surroundings, while also using perspective to see the Serengeti through the mouse and lion's eyes. The interview from Reading Rockets continues, "I wanted them to be anthropomorphic, but in a way that suggested the true nature and the character of a lion, and a true nature and a true character of a mouse. And in doing so I had to straddle a fence making them respond in a kind of natural way, but the reader to understand what they were responding to."

The symoblic meaning behind the lion and the mouse is something that is valued by this popular tale. "The lion, while strong and powerful, does not harm the small, defenseless mouse after it scurries away from an owl. In return for this kindness, the mouse comes the rescue of the lion by chewing through the roped snare that captured him. As many fables have a moral, in the story of the lion of the mouse the reader does not know why the lion lets the mouse free or why the mouse saves the lion by setting him free." Perhaps, it's the acts of kindness and the actions represented in the pictures that becomes the moral of this popular, and thought-provoking fable.

Although this was a retelling, Jeff Pickney's version of this tale forced me to re-evaluate my own knowledge of fables. It is amazing how a wordless book can drive the story right out of its illustrations. The ability to interact with the text between a teacher and a student or a mother and a child is the beauty of what resonates from these types of storybooks. And it will be a storybook and lesson that a child will live by, and never forget.

Soup for Breakfast, Poems and Pictures by Calef Brown

New York Times Best Selling Author Calef Brown created a collection of playful, short-verse poems and pictures in Soup for Breakfast. Starting with the cover page, the various images are pieced together in a collage-like form and are depicted on a soup can, giving the reader a glimpse into what the book will entail. The subject of poems are an ecletic mix along with the complimentary silly images and lines. Brown's somewhat "folk art" style of illustrations will surely have you laughing out loud at times.

In the poem titled, Grandpa's Mustache, the nonsense verse and rhyming scheme is portrayed full-heartedly within this 16 line poem:

"Grandpa has nose hair-/it really grows there. /It also makes him snore,/but grandma doesn't care./She can't hear./Too much ear hair."

The opposite page of the poem is a full-page illustration of Grandpa with his mustache, while on the right hand corner of the page where the poem is written is a smaller image of Grandma with her over-embellished eair hair. Brown also incorporates unexpected rhymes and strange puns. For example, in the poem titled One to Ten (and BACK AGAIN), Brown writes:

"Five, six, snap your fingers./Think of something weird./Noodles in a haystack./A baby with a beard.

Seven, Eight, clap your hands./Think of something silly,/Chickens popping bubble wrap./Statues eating chili.

Nine, Ten, tap your feet./Think of something fun:/Mulling over foolish whims./Counting back to One."

This poem radiates the imaginitative creation of words that poetry can encompass. The unexpected word choice reflects the idea of how writing poetry can include letting go of boundaries and having fun while doing it. And while there are the fair share of these quirky yet adventurous poems, Brown also incorporates poems that contain a certain seriousness.

"Go Forth, /Young Moth./It takes strength/to lift up and stay aloft/with wings so soft.

Brown's featured poem as well as the title of the collection, Soup for Breakfast, celebrates the idea of individualism and satisfaction of the speaker with eating this peculiar, yet satisfying bowl of soup int he morning.

"I like soup for breakfast./That's the way I am./I'm not a fan of toast and jam/or griddlecakes/with eggs and ham,/or even Cream of Wheat./A bowl of cream of broccoli,/now there's a morning treat./Coffee drinkers often scoff,/but I just laugh/and sip my broth.

At the end of the story on it's final endpaper, Brown admits that he truly does enjoy soup for breakfast, and does his wife, Anissa.
These are a few of the reviews at the back of the book that I found to perfectly highlight the book's purpose;

• "Silly it may be, but all the best kind, prompting the reader to see the world (slightly) askew and to delight in it." ~ Horn Book


• "Words and pictures manage to be both clear and weird, an enjoyable mix." - Booklist


• "The book celebrates language and wordplay with some real tongue-twisters, and the high-energy acryllic illustrations are just as engaging as the text. - Parents' Choice

Calef Brown has the distinct talent of writing and illustrating poems that allow readers to have fun with his humor, sarcasm, and witty undertones. Reading these poems aloud will surely have an audience's full attention, while inspiring those to bring out their own creatitivy and expression through their own poetry. I believe that sharing poetry colllections such as these will bring out your most reluctant readers and writers, while understanding the underlying message that not every poem falls into a particular mold, and that a distinguishable style sets a poem out from the rest.

Owen & Mzee, The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff

Owen & Mzee tells the heartwarming story of a friendship that results after the 2004 Tsunami in Kenya. The inseparable duo first meet when Owen, a baby hippo is stranded. As villagers work tirelessly to rescue Owen, Mzee, a 130-year-old tortoise, "adopts" the young hippo. From that moment on Owen and Mzee become acquainted with one another at the animal santuary and stay by each other's side day in and day out.

These are a few of the questions that I had after reading this story:

• Why did the authors decide to write about Owen and Mzee?
• How did they know of their bond in Kenya?

While trying to find these answers, I found in a review by Publisher's Weekly. The review stated that a photograph of the two was published in newspapers about a month after the tsunami. "Craig Hatkoff and his then six-year old daughter, moved by that image and the accompanying article, decided to learn more about these animal-companions-and to write their story."

The photographs of Owen and Mzee detail each of the events and emotions involved throughout their journey. Photographer Peter Greste incorporates full page spreads of Owen's trying transport to the sanctuary. Photos also demonstrate Owen's immediate movement toward Mzee once arrivng there - "Owen crouched behind Mzee, the way baby hippos often hide behind their mothers for protection." While the illustrations depict the heartfelt emotions of the pair, the text allows readers to closely follow just how remarkable yet suprising the bond truly is between the two of them. Illustrations throughout the story detail the daily activities of cuddling, swimming, and playing around with one another. "Most wildlife experts have never heard of a mammal and a reptile forming such a strong bond."


The story of Owen and Mzee just goes to show how during life's most trying times, it's the people (or animals) in this case, that help us survive it and move on. Even though there were differences between Owen and Mzee, that did not stop them in surrendering their love for one another and forming a mother-son relationship that continues to exist today. I was surprised yet pleased that these two would create this relationship. I believe that children who read this story will be glad that Owen was able to find a mother to care for him, as well as Mzee having a son to take care of. Once reading this book, students will be inclined to read the follow-ups that tell of their first year together and the unique "language" that they created to communicate. UNREAL!

Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka

Illustrator and storybook writer Chris Raschka's Yo! Yes? details the short yet sweet meeting of two boys, one white, one black on the street. With the story's word count totalling only 34 words, one would think at first glance that the story's plot would be uninteresting; however, it's message of finding friendship in the oddest of places it what is clearly understood at the culmination of this award-winning book.

Raschka's rhythmic text introduces the reader to two opposities, while one is shy, the other is very outgoing. As the two communicate with very few words, "Yo!" "Yes?" "What's up?" "Not much." The exchange of words lead up to an increased amount of converstaion. The two boys join together to become friends at the final pages as Raschka depicts them both jumping up into the air while yelling simulateneously, "Yow!"

Although the text is simplistic, the underlying message that Raschka details in the story is that you can find friendship with someone who may appear completely different than you on the outside. But if you take the time to get to know that person and his intentions, you may find that you have alike than you assumed.

• What gave Raschka the inspiration to write Yo! Yes?

While I did not find an exact answer to this question, I discovered the process of how he gets started on writing a story. In an interview with Scholastic, Raschka states,"usually a number of events will be going on around me to start on a book. What I mean is I will have read a poem or saw a picture that is lingering in my mind. I will be brooding about something going on in my life, and then I will remember something that happened to me as a child. Some of this will just come to me; some if it I will actively pursue for instance, maybe it was that worried me the most when I was eight. So then I will have this thing that I want to get down. It might just be a single picture in my mind, or an image suggested by a line of poetry, or a phrase I heard on the street, something that I want to nurse along into a picture book."

The part of the interview where he says, or a phrase I heard on the street, totally struck me - perhaps he heard bits and pieces of a conversation like this on the street, and this was his motivation to write Yo! Yes? I wonder??

I think reading this story aloud, even using this as a Reader's Theatre activity in the classroom, will allow for children to be actively involved in the text, as well as being "eavesdroppers" on their conversation. Raschka sends the message that children can find friends in the most unlikely places, and at first glance, with the most unlikely people.

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson

A celebration of African American women and their traditions from generation to generation are detailed in Jacqueline Woodson's picture book, Show Way. This is the first book I've written that is based on my family's history - tracking my family down the maternal line, from my great-great-grandmother to my daughter, Toshi." (http://www.teachingbooks.net/)

Show Way begins with Woodson's great-great-grandmother being sold at the age of seven and taken away from her home in Virginia to live in South Carolina. While listening to stories about freedom from Big Mama, she used the piece of muslin, red thread, and two needles to create a Show Way, or a quilt that showed messages and directions for slaves to escape through the Underground Railroad. The craft of quilting is passed down from woman to child year after year, and soon culminates through eight generations, ending with Woodson and her daughter Toshi on the final pages, as the story comes full-circle. "Writing Show Way made me remember that that's the not only the blood that runs through my veins, but it's the blood that runs through my daughter's veins and it's the blood that runs through all of our veins. I mean, the fact that we as human beings have gotten this far is amazing."

Together, both Woodson and illustrator Hudson Talbott emphasize the importance of how these quilts represented the memories of the past and present. Talbott's stunning illustrations link closely with the text while also carrying the same quilt-like motif. Just by looking at the pictures, not even reading the words, a story is told about the culture, traditions, trials, and tribulations through the use of color, size, shape, and background effects. Quilts are also used in the design of the book; for example, on the cover Mathis May is holding a candle. "A diamond is actually cut into the cover as diamonds represent the four stages of life in African textiles." (http://www.newyorktimes.com/) Pictures of African American leaders such as Martin Luther King, words by Sojourner Truth, and other inspriational historical figures are stiched together on the cover surrounding Mathis, demonstrating an importance and celebration of their efforts for equal rights.

Woodson's family stories in Show Way created an opportunity for readers to reflect and learn about the past experiences of these women. Readers obtain a firm understanding of the importance of how these quilts and patterns told a story that was shared from mother to daughter. This story will encourage readers to seek information about their own family's background, while learning about how their experiences and traditions helped shape their present lives.

Animals Nobody Loves by Seymour Simon

Seymour Simon's takes a close look at twenty of the world's creatures that would make most readers skin crawl in his informational picture book Animals Nobody Loves. The book's cover illustration depicts a large photograph of a spider, dominating the width and almost the length of the page. At the end of the spider's description, Seymour states, "It's a good idea just to watch spiders and not to bother them." This warning comes immediately after the fact about how the black widow's powerful bite that can make people sick, or even kill them. Even though spiders don't normally bit human beings, "they usually trap insects they prey upon--from flies to grasshoppers and crickets--in beautiful silken webs. So we should remember that spiders do us a lot of good by getting rid of insect pests." This is one warning that I even remember as a child growing up. I would never kill a spider that I saw, I would just leave it alone knowing that it would trap a pesky fly or mosquito!

Among other animals, Simon's nonlovable animals include sharks, rattlesnakes, cockroaches, skunks, and pirahnas. The layout of the text usually takes up the first half of the page, while the photograph of the animal is a full-page depiction making it "up close and personal" with the reader. In an interview with Reading Rockets, Simon says that he usually takes the photographs before he begins writing a book. "And these photographs that I choose, I winnow through them-I go through them and choose the images that are most striking, the most arresting to me, and if it interests me, I think it might interest the kid...I want the kids to be drawn into the book, and I want them to read it from beginning to end."

While the animals presented in this book are not common for many readers to think that they are "cute and cuddly" like a pet cat or dog; however, Simon's analysis and facts of these twenty creatures allows the reader to think in a different way about them, while hopefully coming away with an understanding and newfound appreciation for what their purposes are here on Earth. In his introduction, Simon states, "You may never love a rattlesnake, a cockroach, or an octopus - but this book may help you begin to understand and respect them for what they are."

Though Simon includes facts and brief information about these animals, he does not include additional information or sources at the back of the book. However, his words at times may prompt readers to self-research about an animal that interests or puzzles them. At the end of the book, Simon questions the reader: "Do you feel any differently about the animals in this book now that you know more about them? If you do, can you think of the reasons that made you change your mind. Perhaps, you might make your own list of animals that you don't love and think about why each of these animals in on your list."

Before reading this book, I was terrified to even hold it in my hands (the large spider on the front cover looks real enough to crawl right off the page!) In response to Simon's question, I do feel differently about these animals. Though they may look hideous and dangerous, they all serve a purpose and do what they must in order to survive.

The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons

Gail Gibbons picture book, The Vegetables We Eat, "is a clear, informative introduction to eight groups of vegetables...A simple, effective approach to the topic." ~ School Library Journal. The facts presented for each of these vegetables is laid out to be asthetically pleasing for younger children and easy to comprehend in text. "Vegetables grow to be different shapes, sizes, and colors."

The bright and cheerful watercolor illustrations are quite suitable for the text, allowing for children to get a close up view to each food presented page after page. The varying scenes give readers an additional perspective on the process of how vegetables grow on a farm, who is involved in their production, how they are produced and then eventually sold to stores. While the text is simplistic, Gibbons incorporates vocabulary and its definition with words such as fertilizers and hyroponics that can be geared for students at the upper elementary level.

Gibbons comments on a ReadingRockets interview that she tries hard to make her nonfiction books "visually exciting." "I want to make nonfiction visually exciting, but it's sort of natural for me to do that. I mean I love bright colors, and I love doing my artwork. But when I'm plotting out a book, because of my graphic design background and because of the television background, I can sort of visualize while I'm writing what is going to be on the next page. And I don't want it to be boring. I want it to be visually exciting. I will never pick a topic that I think is dull or uninteresting. It has to be something that I want to dig in and be curious about."

I could see teachers, even nurses, introducing the skill of classifying vegetables, according to size, color, characteristics, and how to effectively implement the number of servings needed each day. The more fun students have with these types of activities while reading, the more inclined they will be try something new!

With all of the school-wide initiatives in healthy eating habits, this story couldn't have better timing. The wealth of information that this book provides will assist readers in understanding what kinds of vegetables exist and how important it they are in order to maintain healthy and active lives.

A Nandi Tale: Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

The great Kapiti Plain, once flourishing with a "sea of grass" enough for giraffes to browse on and herdsmen to pasture their cows on, is devastated by the lack of African rains. The sea of green grass soon becomes brown and dead, "needing the rain from the cloud overhead" as the larger animals begin to migrate. The big, black cloud, all heavy with rain, that shadowed the ground on Kapiti Plain. But Ki-Pat, a herdsman, ingeniously brings the rain down to the plain with a bow and arrow that pierces into the dark rain cloud above. In the end, the grass grew green again, and Ki-Pat got a wife, and a little Ki-Pat who tends the cows now, shoots down the rain, when black clouds shadow Kapiti Plain.

In the note at the back of the book, I discovered that author Verna Aardema is a highly acclaimed storyteller and the author of many books of African folktales. "This tale was discovered in Kenya, Africa more than seventy years ago by Sir Claud Hollis, a famous anthropologist. He camped near the Nandi village and learned the native language from two boys. He learned riddles and proverbs from the Nandi children, and most of the folktales form the Chief Medicine Man. This tale reminded Sir Claud of a cumulative nursery rhyme that he loved as a boy in England, "The House That Jack Built." So he decided to call the story "The Nandi House That Jack Built" and included it in his book "The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore, published in 1909. Verna Aardema has brought the originial story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of "The House That Jack Built."

Aardema's repetitive phrase "that needed the rain from the cloud overhead--the big, black cloud all heavy with rain, that shadowed the ground on Kapiti plain" is found throughout each of the story's rhythmic plot. Each event occurs, the text builds upon one another, similarly in The House That Jack Built. The rhyming scheme and predictability allow for readers to closely follow the adventure and challenge that awaits Ki-Pat throughout the duration of the drought. The illustrations by Beatriz Vidal demonstrate the types of diverse animals that live in Africa, such as cows, giraffes, lions, rhinos, zebras, antelope, buffalo, cheetahs, leopards, etc. The culture, appearance, and tradition of the Nandi people are also touched on in this story, and can provide the opportunity for further research into this part of Kenya.

Reading Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain allowed for me to further evaluate lack of exposure to multicultural literature, especially folktales. Having read The House That Jack Built, this African folktale gave an interesting and unique twist to the English nursery rhyme, while also keeping true the Nandi traditions. Despite differences in folktales within the world, these oral traditions continue to be passed down from one generation to the next, while readers remain entertained and take away a valuable lesson or morale from the story. And just as little Ki-Pat did, too, tends the cows on Kapiti Plain, after being guided by his father by his own experiences and stories.

The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant

What do you do if you outlive all of your friends? Well, the old woman in this story sets out to combat her loneliness by naming all of the inanimate things in in her life: Roxanne, her bed; her old chair, Fred; her reliable car, Betsy. What do all of these objects have in common for this clever, old woman? She gives them these names because she knows she can't outlive them. This plan seems to work for the old woman, until a small puppy appears at her gate. The old woman feeds the puppy, but then sends him away, due to her past experiences of hurt in losing friends. Time goes by and the puppy grows into a dog and continually visits the old woman by the gate of her house. But one day, the dog doesn't show up. The old woman becomes extremeley concerned about the dog's well being. She decides to search for the dog and name him, realizing that finding her new companion is worth more than her insecurities of losing him as she did with her friends. In the end, she finds the dog and names him Lucky, as he becomes a new member of her family, while filling the void of those she had lost through friendship and love. And although we never learn the old woman's name, we find out the dog's name in the end, along with all of the inanimate objects in her house.

Kathryn Brown's watercolor illustrations aid in the quirkiness and somewhat peculiar thought process of the old woman. In a review by Publisher's Weekly, "the unlikely protagonist of this quirky and tenderhearted story is a litte old lady with cat glasses and a beehive who might have stepped out into the Far Side." The Far Side, I couldn't agree more.

The Old Woman Who Named Things creates the opportunity to teach students on how to identify thoughtshots that authors use in stories. Rylant uses this writing concept of thoughtshots effectively in TOWWNT. In the lesson plan, "Thoughtshots Bring Your Characters to Life," (http://www.readwritethink.org/) instructional plans identify three different types of thoughtshots used in TWOWNT.

1. Internal dialogue/flash-ahead: It was a very pretty puppy, she thought. But it couldn't stay.



2. Internal dialogue: The old woman sat and thought about the shy brown dog who had no collar with a name...



3. Flashback: The old woman thought a moment. She thought of the old, dear friends with the names whom she had outlived.

It is through these thoughtshots that Rylant is able to communicate just how believable and real the character of the old woman truly is, while making the story much more interesting to her readers. The instructional plans also use the story An Angel for Solomon Singer, as Rylant uses the same concept of thoughtshots throughout this story. Isn't it interesting that both of these characters longed for some kind of companionship, and found it in the end!?

The Old Woman Who Named Things is a story that will allow you to empathize with the old woman's need for companionship, although her quirky naming of her house, car, chair are quite creative. In the end, she realizes that taking the risk is well worth gaining the company of Lucky. I believe that readers both young and old will be fully satisfied with the story's happy ending knowing that the old woman will never feel alone again.

The Journey, Stories of Migration by Cynthia Rylant

Author Cynthia Rylant creates clear and vivid descriptions of the migratory habits of six different species in The Journey: Stories of Migration. Rylant's poetic language, as exhibited throughout many of her books is carried throughout this narrative story. These descriptions are perfectly matched with Davis's colorful and vibrant illustrations that are presented as full-page bleeds, as well as smaller pictures noted below each of the species introductions.

Rylant also starts the story with an introduction and ends the story with a conclusion page. In the introduction Rylant states, "These are the creatures who migrate. Their lives will be spent moving from one place to another. Some will migrate to survive. Some will migrate to create a new life. All will be remarkable. Here are the stories of some of these remarkable travelers. The locust, the whale, the eel, the butterfly, the caribou, the tern -- so different from each other but so alike in one profound way: Each must move." The introduction gives a broad definition of migration to children, as well as identifies the species that they will be learning about in the pages to come. The conclusion, somewhat reiterates the introduction, but more of in a profound and meaningful way: Tiny birds, great whales, fragile butterflies, persistent eels, humming locusts, and brave caribou: These are all miracles in motion. Travelers on a remarkable road." Although each of the six species are separated by different "sections" by titles, Rylant conveys the strong bond that all of these creatures share: the necessity to travel in order to survive. But how is it that understand when to travel, where to go, and how to get there? This continues to be one of nature's mysteries of animal instinct that is truly remarkable and fascinating.

The only slight disappointment that I had with this book was that there was no additional information about these animals and descriptions. This story, however, would lead into an excellent question and seek information session in order to gain further knowledge about these species, as well as learning about other migratory animals. In addition, even though I thought Davis's illustrations were beautifully done, I think that the non-realistic form of the creatures. I think actual photographs would be much more suitable in order to support the text of the story, while also creating a more realistic appearance of the species included in the story. The Journey Stories of Migration would be an excellent read aloud for students to introduce the process of migration. It creates the opportunity for children to take a closer look into the animal world and the journeys they embark on in order to survive.

Long Night Moon by Cynthia Rylant

The tradition of Native American moon-naming is beautifully portrayed in Rylant's Long Night Moon. Rylant's tribute to the naming of the moons was accurately and poetically versed on each page, with complementing illustrations of each month's phase. It seems as though both author and illustrator were clearly in tune with one another. Each written line, font color, and illustration worked so well together that it made the storyline flow very smoothly and rhymically. Rylant and Siegel's use of a circular plot is also found in Long Night Moon, while moving through each of the moon phases and seasons and demonstrating the growth of the mother and baby one year later.

An interesting resource that I found on students creating stories that contain circular plots is from www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/completing-circle-craft-circular-827.html. It is an excellent resource in instructing students to use the craft of a circular plot structure, while recommending books like Long Night Moon to incoporate in reading/writing workshop lessons. Here is a complete list of books that contain circular plots www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson827/Booklist.pdf

As I tried to determine just exactly what type of medium illustrator Mark Siegel chose, I found a

note the end of the book, surprisingly not from the author, but from Siegel himself. He states, "finding the right medium proved to be a challenge. I tried acrylics and then oils, but nothing came close to rendering the magic of Cynthia's words. Then I went outside. Over several months, I took many long walks by moonlight in the beautiful Rockefeller Farms, near Sleepy Hollow, New York. In my busy crowded life, I'd never given so much attention to moonlight: What is it like? How does it feel? What makes it so special? Eventually - and almost accidentally - charcoal revealed itself as the medium of choice. It returned me to that velvety mysterious light that softens everything, bathing nature in a dreamy luminosity. This dreamy luminosity appears in each full-page spread of dark blues, grays, black, and browns. His first-hand account of studying nature in this manner deeply impacted his ability to understand the moon phases, while gaining a further appreciation for what happens when the sun goes down.

Rylant's ability to capture the essence of the moon phases in such a way is breathtaking. Her words coupled with Siegels charcoal illustrations alter my perspective about nature and the magic that happens throughout the nighttime. Siegel states at the end of his note, "May the words and images of Long Night Moon offer a safe invitation to savor the night and celebrate its otherwise hidden wonders." I believe that although this story tells about the nighttime, children will find warmth, security, and beauty in the surroundings of moonlight.

Weslandia by Paul Fleischman

"He sticks out," says his mother. "Like a nose," replies his father. Wesley. A boy whose imagination, way of thinking, and physical appearance are not the norm. He's no ordinary boy, and he knows it, but it does not bother him a bit. After hearing his parents' conversation about his noncoforming habits, Wesley decides to spend his summer vacation building his own civilization through a garden that produces a crop of plants that provide him with shelter, food, and drink. Meanwhile, as Wesley's peers and neighbors become more and more intrigued by what he is doing during his vacation time. In the end, they begin to see Wesley's differences and gain a better understanding of his talents, dedication, and intelligence - while being intrigued by his creation of Weslandia.

In a biography of Paul Fleischman on http://www.barnesandnoble.com/, there is a statement that compares the author to the character of Wesley in the story. "Fleischman, like Wesley, constructed his own alternate world during his school years. "My friends and I invented our own sports, ran an underground newspaper, and created our own school culture." Illustrator Kevin Hawkes added, "Wesley lives in this place where everything is the same, yet he has created something unique and is living self-sufficently, on his own island, in a way." Hawkes compared Wesley's world to Robinson Crusoe, one of his favorite books as a young boy. Hawkes illustrations from the cover, endpapers, and full-page images aid in the creation of Weslandia. Readers gain a firm perspective on Wesley's world and its surroundings. Similar to Sidewalk Circus, Hawkes differentiation of sizes and perspectives allow for the reader to get a true feel for what is happening page after page.

What I find so inspiring from Wesley, as well as Fleischman, is that despite the environments of constant social pressures surrounding them, they do what they want and are not swayed by the appearances and opinions of others. I believe that Weslandia teaches an important lesson to young readers about the importance appreciating each other's differences and staying true to yourself. Wesley, like many children, encounter bullies growing up - but Wesley doesn't give into them despite their constant commenting and tormenting. This story also goes to show that children can find safety and security in their own discoveries as Wesley found in Weslandia. Fleischman and Hawkes created the opportunity for readers to embark on an adventure into another world far away from their own, while encouraging all the "Wesleys" that it's okay to stick out amongst everyone else.

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

I read Cynthia Rylant's Caldecott Honor book, When I Was Young in the Mountains, after reading Waiting to Waltz, A Childhood. After reviewing reader's responses online, I was interested in seeing the similarities and differences between both books that captured Rylant's experiences in living in West Virginia as a young girl. When I Was Young in the Mountains has an entirely different feel to it than Waiting to Waltz. When reading this story, her words were inviting, welcoming, and warm. The experiences told in this story explain the events in living with her younger brother and loving grandparents in the mountains. Rylant's somewhat autobiographical story reflects how her life was simplistic yet pleasing living in Cool Ridge. She reminisces about the simplistic yet satisfying pleasures such as visiting the general store, pumping water from the well, and floating in the local swimming hole. She even remembers the smell of the sweet milk bought from that general store and how awful she felt after eating too many of her grandmother's okra. The vivid details and descriptions prompt you to question, how can she remember these events as if they just happened yesterday? In a Q&A interview with Harcourt Publishers, Rylant states, "I long to put what I have lived, how my heart and mind have changed over time into beautiful, meaningful language."

Illustrations by Diane Goode fully compliment the text in displaying Rylant's recollection of her experiences in Cool Ridge as if they happened yesterday. The warm colors comfirm the happiest feelings expressed by Rylant as she details her fondest childhood events that happened in the mountains. While I have not lived in this setting, I have a clearer picture of what life would be like living in this type of rural environment. Life doesn't seem as busy and complicated in the past as it does today. I feel somewhat envious of the fact that I haven't experienced the smell of fresh, clean air in the mountains - you can't smell that growing up in a heavily populated city!

Comparing this autobiography to Waiting to Waltz, both pieces are similiar in how Rylant depicts her childhood experiences of growing up in West Virginia. However, Waiting to Waltz contains experiences that were not the warm, fuzzy feelings portrayed in When I Was Young in the Mountains. The poems told more about the moments that challenged her, as well as moments that she experienced grief, sadness, and tragedy (with a few poems that showed times of happiness and certainty). Both stories tell of different times in Rylant's life; When I Was Young in the Mountains demonstrates Rylant's transformation of her childhood into becoming a young woman, while When I Was Young in the Mountains strictly details her experiences and feelings as a young, carefree girl living with her grandparents. I found myself questioning a few things: where was her mother during this time? Why did she leave her son and daughter in the care of grandparents? I found in an article about Rylant's life when trying to find answers to my questions on the web. In the article, it stated that her parents were separated when she was four years old, and her mother wanted to pursue a nursing degree. So young Cynthia and brother were left with their grandparents in Cool Ridge. Four years later, Rylant's mother reunited with her children and moved to Beaver, West Virginia - the setting for her childhood poems, Waiting to Waltz. She once called this new location "without a doubt a small, sparkling universe that gave me a lifetime worth of material for my writing." www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=40

It is evident that Rylant's past truly impacted her success as a writer today. Her experiences I can describe somewhat like a rollercoaster ride - there are many ups, downs, twists, and turns. Sometimes you feel safe, happy, and secure. Other times you feel terribly frightened. I truly admire her as an author as well as a young woman. She inspires me to hold onto memories, both good and bad, as they are all a part of life and make us who we are today.

The Alligator Boy by Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant's Alligator Boy tells the story of a young boy decides that he wants to be an alligator, after visiting a natural history museum with his class. After discussing this with his aunt, she sends him an alligator head and tail, in which the young boy wears to school as Rylant states on the book covers endpapers and first lines of the story, "A boy was tired of being a boy. He hoped to be somebody new." Parents of the alligator boy are mixed in response, as he dad goes along with his son's new disguise and his mother is curious and worried about her son's imaginative spirit. Once at school, he even is able to scare off a bully, spell with his long green snout, and enjoyed life to its fullest extent.

Rylant's use of a rhyming scheme in Alligator Boy add to the rhythm and flow in celebrating this young boy's creative imagination. The text is simple, yet the illustrations by Diane Goode are eye catching and play up the words stated page after page. According to a review by Children's Literature, "Goode requires only the minimum of props to produce a delightfully imaginative sequence of drawings "in line" with watercolors and gouache providing the particulars that the very succinct rhymes ignore." There was only one time in which I felt that Rylant's words did not flow as in previous lines, but were somewhat awkward in composition: "She asked a good doctor to come and to see/this boy who could not a boy now be."

What I found most interesting and confirming about this book was its ending - the alligator boy did not turn back into the boy seen before he inherited his green head and tail, but the final picture and text displayed the certainty of "what a good life for an alligator boy" as he sits comfortably on his mother's lap. I believe that when children and adults read this story, they will embrace it for Rylant's witty humor and powerful message of self-expression. I had a lot of fun watching the boys transformation into an alligator and joyfully living his life with a smile on his face moment after moment, while rescuing a puppy from a dog catcher and fending off a school bully.

I believe that Rylant's message in this story is for readers is to do what makes you happy, and do not worry about what others think of you. Even as an adult, the young alligator boy's creative spirit and confidence inspires me to evaluate myself in times when I am self-conscious. Rylant and Goode's written and illustratives styles complemented each other well in this story as readers of all ages will enjoy watching the boy be an alligator-boy, while imagining themselves in his place. I also believe that the story firmly opposes Kermit the Frog's famous opinion, "It's not easy being green." Alligator Boy shows readers that it is okay to be whatever you want to be and to never let others let you think otherwise.

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Come and explore the fascinating ways that animals can use their tails, ears, eyes, mouths, noses, and feet through the interactive and colorfully illustrated book titled What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? Illustrator Steve Jenkins and wife Robin Page create a fun and interactive guessing game throughout the entire story. Jenkins cut-paper art is shown on a one-page spread, while allowing only for the specific animals' tails, ears, eyes, mouths, etc. to be shown - accompanied by the text asking (i.e. What Do You Do With a Nose Like This?). The pages following present the reader with a full-page bleed of illustrations that show full bodies of animals, coupled with the answers to the questions asked on the previous pages. "If you're a scorpian, your tail can give a nasty sting," "If you're a lizard, you break off your tail to get away."

While researching what medium Jenkins utilized, I found a Q&A review regarding how he creates his cut-paper collages. "Once he knows what he wants to illustrate, he collects his references. He may visit many zoos, or the aquarium. He takes photographs and looks at a lot of books. "I don't do the actual studies there, but I do find it useful to get an appreciation of how beautiful and subtle they really are. I do an outline drawing based on the references and how I want them to look on the page. Then I do a quick color setting to figure out what paper I'm going to use in the collage. Finally I cut and tear." The Q&A also mentioned that Jenkins is continually collecting all different kinds of paper, most of them being from other countries that have a tradition of hand made paper, such as Japan.(www.childrenslit.com/mai/jenkins_steve.html) Still after knowing this, it truly amazes me how he creates these illustrations just from cut-paper collages. How can he create such life-like fur, skin, and feathers with just paper? QUITE FASCINATING YET UNBELIEVABLE! His cover illustration is a full page bleed of the lizard, showing only his tail on the front cover, while the text wraps itself around the coiling, long, green tail. The back cover, once opened up, shows the entire body of the lizard. Later in the book, it is revealed that, "If you're a lizard, you break off your tail to get away." OUCH!

As most characters in the book will most likely be familiar to children, such as the elephant, chimpanzee, or the hippo - strange creatures such as a four-eyed fish and a blue-footed booby will surely capture children's eyes and ears. The pages at the very end of the book also provide further information and facts about the creatures mentioned in the book and allow for the opportunity to learn more about the animals that they've met in the story. According to a review by Children's Literature, What Do You Do With a Tail Like This "is a perfect choice for talking with preschoolers about similarities and differences and an essential introduction to any second through fourth grade animal units because it teaches readers to be sharper observers of any animal's features and how the animal can use that feature." And I completely agree. I even learned quite a bit from this story - like the blue-footed booby?!?! That will get quite the laugh from students!

After reading this story, I am interested in reading more stories by Jenkins and Page. The illustrative and writing styles presented in this story continually kept me guessing, wondering, learning, and still I had questions after reading. Isn't this just what we want from our students??

My Questions: Where did blue-footed boobies get their name? Why do they have blue feet? I found some info regarding these questions here on National Geographic for Kids. "Booby" means "bobo" or clumsy (stupid in Spanish) because these birds are somewhat clumsy and slow on land. The males feet are strikingly blue when they are ready to mate with females (yes, they have blue feet, too!) The males do all they can to make sure females notice their feet. How romantic! http://nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/BlueBooby

Walt Disney's Cinderella by Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant's Cinderella is the version of the popular tale that I became familiar with as a child, and still am fond of as an adult reader and educator. Although the predictability and storyline is already known, Rylant's language captivates the reader as we feel truly sorry for how she is treated by the evil in her life. Rylant expresses the differentiaton between "light" and "dark," similarly as Kate DeCamilo expresses in The Tale of Despereaux.

Dark (Evil): Wicked Stepmother and Stepsisters ~ "Like roses, which do not bloom across doorways, Love itself did not ever linger."

Light (Good): Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world?"

Rylant also capitalizes the word "Love" as if giving it human characteristics, and comparing it to a force that brings Cinderella and the Prince together. ~ "In silence, Love found them."

Mary Blair's illustrations are images full of color that also depict the mood and tone of the story. The simplicity of the images coupled with use of earthtones and subtle color combinations add to the wonder and excitement of this worldly-known tale.

Cendrillon, A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci

Cendrillon, A Caribbean Cinderella, written by Robert. D. San Souci, is a story that is "loosely" based on the French Creole tale. Told from the perspective of the grandmother's point of view, the story is told of a young woman who wishes to attend the ball of Monsieur Thibault. The plot contains the typical elements of magic that many Cinderella tales include, and as predicted, Cendrillon was reunited with her Prince, married, and lived happily ever after.

Cendrillon incoporates words and phrases from the French Creole language. For example, the carriage was made from a fruit a pain, a breadfruit, and the carriage attendants were magically transformed from manicous, opposums. The author included a glossary at the end of the book which was helpful, however the colorful and detailed illustrations of Brian Pickney aided in the comprehension of the French Creole language.

San Souci did note, to my surprise, that that in island Creole, "Cinderella" would be written out "Sandriyon" through pronounced the same as Cendrillon;" and "Monseieur" would be "Missie." It made me wonder just exactly why if this was the Mer des Antilles (Martinique)version, that the author would not use the spellings known to this particular language of this Caribbean island. This makes it all the more important to investigate other Caribbean folkates to note the similarities and differences, and form conclusions based on a variety of literature.

Pickney's illustrations of oil pants contain colors bold and vibrant of the Caribbean culture. The full page bleeds include one larger illustration and blends into the next page with the text and bordering images, creating a flow of events from one page to the next.