A Big Guy Took My Ball

Willems, M. (2013). A big guy took my ball! New York: Hyperion

Piggie finds a big ball, but then a huge whale comes and takes it from him. Piggie quickly runs and tells Gerald that a big guy took his ball. Gerald gets very upset and then says that he is big too, and will get his ball back. Piggie calls Gerald a hero, has he makes his way to retrieve his ball. When Gerald gets to the big buy, he is surprised that the big guy is BIG BIG! BIG! Gerald returns to Piggie, who assumes that Gerald was not able to get his ball back. It turns out the big guy is a whale, and he came over to thank Piggie for finding his little ball. Piggie was surprised that the whale called it a little ball, but he explained to Piggie that it is small because he is so big. The whale was sad because no one would play with him, and wished he was little. Piggie then invites him to play whale ball. In the end, the three characters end up having big fun. This is a wonderful picture book where the illustrator did a wonderful job using a repeated  color scheme. He draws the reader attention to Gerald and Piggie by using pink and gray, and then surprises the reader by adding a big splash of blue. The highlight of this book is the authors ability to gererate to the reader some of life's misconcrptions. He teaches a lesson to the reader that will hopefully encourage them to play with everyone regardless of their outter appearance. Early readers will love flipping through this book, to see what kind of adventure Piggie and Gerald get into. This book can best be used in the primary grades to make students aware of some of the social sterotypes.

The Three Pigs

Wiesner, D. (20010. The three pigs. New York: Clarion.

Once upon a time there were three pigs that set out to build their houses. The first pig made his house out of straw, and so the big bad wolf came and huffed and puffed and blew his house down. Instead of eating up the pig, the wolf accidently blew the pig out of the story. The second pig built his house out of sticks, and the wolf proceeded to blow his house down as well. Before the wolf could eat the pig up, the pig from the first house came to his rescue. By this point in the book, the wolf is perplexed as to where the pigs have gone. The third pig made his house out of brick, so the other two pigs paid him a visit. He asked them why they had not been eaten up, and they merely answered that they got away. Together they decided to explore the pages of various stories. They even tried jumping into the hey diddle diddle nursery rhym, but they quickly jumped out of it. They then proceeded to read a dragon tale, where they rescued a fourth pig. They then proceeded to climb back into their story, just in time to face the big bad wolf. The dragon from the previous strory they had read came home with them and scared the big bad wolf away. after that they all lived happily ever after.  This story takes a comical twist to the original story of the big bad wolf. The highlight of this book is the pigs curiosity to explorethe pages of other stories.  This pulls the reader in and hold their attention until the end. The success of this book is based on the novelty of the story, and the unexpected turn that Wiesner adds. The illustrations are nostalgic of the original story, but then take a modern twist when the paper air planes and dragon appear. Children in the elementary grades will love flipping through the pages. This story will definetly be used by teacher to compare and contrast this story to the original. Students may even be asked to create their own version of The Three Pigs.

Ballooons Over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's parade

Sweet, M. (2011). Balloons over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's parade. New York: Houghton.

Tony Sarg was a little boy who loved to tincker with things, and figure out how to make them move. Once his father asked him to feed the chickens, so he came up with a way of doing it with out leaving his bed. His father was so impressed with his invention, that Tony didn't have to do chores ever again. When Tony grew up, he moved to London where he bagan making marionettes. Tony's marrionette's movement were so life like, that they made him famous. When he moved to New York, his marrionettes had their own show on broadway. Tony went on to design marrionettes for Macy's store windows. Macy's also appointed Tony to help them put on a parade for all the immigrants who missed their traditions during the holidays. He created a parade based on street carnivals from all over the world. On Thanksgiving Day Tony's creations made their first appearance, and were a success. Macy's decided to put on the parade every year, but asked Tony to replace the animals in the parade with something bigger and better. This is when Tony created the first air filled puppets that people controlled with rodes. The problem was that these puppets were to close to the ground, and many people could not see them. So the following year Tony created the first helium filled balloons that floated above the crowd. These balloons floated into the air for everyone to see, and were controlled from below. His creations were a hit, Tony had given New York an unforgetable parade. From that day on Tony's balloons would fill the sky at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade every year. The illustration in this book are fantastic and add life to the story. They colorful and playful images draw the reader in, and give a first hand look at how Tony brainstormed his ideas. The illustationa also make the reader want to jump right into the page, so as to part of all the excitment that Tony's balloons created. Kid of all ages will enjoy looking through this fun and informative book. This book would also be a great for kids in the upper elementary to early middle school years to use when working on biographies. The author's information is accuarate which all readers will appreciate, and she even adds some small notes at the end along with clipping of newspaper articles on the inside cover to futher educate the reader on the life of Tony Sarg.

It's A Book

Smith, L. (2011). It's a book. New York: Roaring Brook.

A donkey with a computer is sitting in front of a monkey with a book. The donkey becomes curious, and asks the monkey what he has. The monkey replies that it's a book, and then the donkey starts to ask him all sorts of questions in regards to what the book does. He asks how do you scroll down? Where's your mouse? Can you blog with it? The monkey answers NO to all of his questions. Finally the monkey gets frustrated and opens up the book to show it to the donkey. The donkey reads a section and then says it has to many letters. The donkey then continues to ask the monkey if the book needs a password or a screen name. The monkey says no, and the donkey proceeds to read the book.The monkey gets tired of waiting, and asks the donkey if he can have his book back, and the donkey says no. So the monkey says he is going to the library, and the donkey says not to worry that he will charge it up when he is done. The mouse on the monkey's head replies, "You do not have to, yet." This is a cute book for everyone to enjoy, but especially the kids in the younger grades. I think one of the highlights of this book is the mouse on top of the monkey's head, he is adds an unexpected twist to the end of the story.This book does a good job at highlighting  the signs of our times. As a society we have become dependent on technology, and have forgotten some of the simple pleasures in life. The illustrations are simple, yet invite the reader into the conversation that is being held between the two characters. The author does a wonderful job at getting the reader's attention with the irony of someone so tech savy not knowing what a book is. This book can be used in a history or social studies class to point out the changes that our world has undergone.

Mirror Mirror

Singer, M. (2010). Mirror, Mirror. New York: Dutton.

In this book Singer came up with a poetry form called the reversal. You read the lines of the poem from top to bottom, and then from the bottom up. It is a unique way of writing one poem that in the end actually creates two poems. All of the reversal poems in this book are based on fairy tales that we have all heard when we were kids. The poems use word play to shed some light on the protagonist and antagonist part of the fairytale. The poems in this book are accompanied by beautiful illustration that add meaning to the two versions of the poem. This is a wonderful book that  kids will enjoy flipping through. One of the highlight of this book is the ability that the author and illustrator have to interconnect their work to give meaning to the reversal. Poetry is usally a tricky art to master, but after reading this book even the pickiest writer will be motivated to give this form of poetry a try. This book is best suited for grades three and up, and provides a new take on teaching the art of poetry.

Where The Wild Things Are

Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. New York: Harper Collins.

Max was a yound boy who loved to create mischief, and was called Wild Thing by his mother. One nigh he talked backt to her, and was forced to go to bed with out supper.. That night Max was dressed in a wolf suit, and when he went back to his, it started to turn into a forest. There was also an ocean and boat that took Max away. It took him to a place where wild things live, and Max made himself king. In this world Max played with the wild things, until one day he had enough. He wanted to be where someone loved him. So he gave up being king and climbed back into his boat. The wild things were sad to see him go, but Max was determined to return to his room. When Max arrived in his room, he discovered a delicious supper waiting for him. This is a lovely book for the primary grades, that promotes of love of ones family and home. It is a beloved story that has been loved through the ages. It speaks to the heart of child, who has ever thrown a tantrum. The illustration have a nostalgic feel to them, that draw the reader in. The illustrations in this book will provide the perfect reason for children to flip through this book. Teachers can us this book help teach manners, and the importance of family.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick,B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic.

Hugo is a young boy who lives in a Paris train station. His father died and his uncle took him in as an apprentice. His uncle taught him how to keep the clocks in the train station running, and provided him a home with in the clock towers. One day his uncle did not return, so Hugo kept the clocks running, and collected his uncles paychecks. When he was young, his father worked part time at a museam and found an old automaton. His father vowed to make it work, and filled his notebooks with drawings of it. Unfortunately his father died before he was able to make it work, so Hugo hung on to the notebook his father had given him for one of his birthdays. One day Hugo found the automaton among the ashes of the museum that had been burned down. He took it back to his room in the train station and vowed to finish what his father had started. Since his uncle was gone, Hugo depended on scavenging and stealing to survive. In his quest to fix the automaton, he began to steal parts from a toy maker across from one of the clocks. Unfortunately for Hugo, the old toy maker new what Hugo was doing. He had Hugo's notebook and would not give it back to him until he worked off his debt. The old toy maker had a godaughter names Isabelle, and she helped Hugo get his notebook back. In the process he discovered that she had the missing key that would make the automaton work. One day he stole the key from her, and ran back to his room to see if it matched. Isabelle followed him back to his room and took back her key. Hugo begged and pleaded with her, and finally showed her why he needed it. The key made the automaton work, and to their surprise drew a picture that bore the name of her godfather Papa George. After that, the two joined forces to solve the mystery. It turned out that Papa George was a famous film maker, who the world thought had died. Hugo and Isabelle helped Papa George get his old life back. Papa George, aka George Melies was honored at a gala that celebrated his life. Papa George and his family decided to take Hugo in, so he would never be homeless again. The highlight of this book is its wonderful charcol drawings. They bring the reader in, and make them part of Hugo Cabret's world. The author does a fabulous job of interconnecting the story with the drawings. There is a seemless connection between the two that keep the readers wanting more. This book could be enjoyed by students in grade three and up, but the drawings can be enjoyed by all. Amongst the books ability to be used in a literature class, I can forsee it being used in an art class. The illustration are a fantastic example of shading being used to create light and shadow. They also have wonderful examples of the artists use of perspective.