Graphic Novel, And Then There Were Gnomes (Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye)

Title: And Then There Were Gnomes (Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye)
Author: Colleen AF Venable
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Publish Date:  August 2010
ISBN: 0761354808

Bethany's Rating:1/5


Summary: A mystery of a ghost in the pet shop drives Hamisher to get Sasspants to solve a mystery of the ghost in the pet shop. While Sasspants is trying to figure out if there is a ghost in the pet shop mice start going missing. Everyone thinks its the ghost taking the mice but Sasspants thinks that it is Hamisher playing a prank on him. In the end Sasspants solves the mystery and finds out that the cold air the other animals thought was a ghost is really a air conditioner and the mice have been sneaking away to go next door to the ice cream store.

 Evaluation: I thought the pictures were very cute but the story was confusing and a little hard to follow. Sometimes I was not sure which way the blocks where supposed to be read.  The story also seemed to drag on a little bit.

Graphic Novel, Baby Mouse Queen Of The World

Title: Baby Mouse Queen Of The World
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: December  2007
ISBN: 0375832297

Bethany's Rating:5/5


Summary: This is a story of a little mouse named Babymouse. She wants to be popular and apart of the cool kid crowd. Babymouse sees everything in her life as bad and wants to change it all. Felicia the most popular mouse has a sleepover and is inviting everyone but Babymouse. Babymouse convinces Felicia to let her come to the sleep over. The sleep over goes bad and Babymouse leaves early. She goes to her friends house and watches a movie instead. Babymouse realizes in the end how good she has it and she would not want it any other way.

 Evaluation: This story was a graphic novel that only used the colors pink, white, and black. I liked the lesson that this story told. I think it is an important one especially for middle school students. In middle school children are trying to figure out who they are and I feel like this book shows kids that they should not try to be trying to join a popular friend group just for the status but they should be true to themselves and appreciate their friends.

Graphic Novel, Baby Mouse Monster Mash

Title: Baby Mouse Monster Mash 
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: August  2008
ISBN: 0375843876

Bethany's Rating:5/5


Summary: This book is about a mouse named Babymouse. She wants to be friends with all of the cool mice in school. Babymouse's mom tells her she can have a party for holloween. She invites Felicia the most popular mouse in school to her party. Felicia and her friends tell Babymouse that she has to dress a certain way and when they go out trick or treating they start making Babymouse do things that she does not want to do like egg someone's house and steal candy from children. Babymouse realizes that she does not want to be with them anymore so she goes back to her house and changes into her original costume and when Felicia comes over Babymouse tells her that she needs to leave and Babymouse spends the night watching movies with her friend.

 Evaluation: I enjoyed this story. I think it shows a good lesson to show children to stay true to themselves. The story is a graphic novel and does show Babymouses imagination going wild throughout the story which I found interesting and I think I would keep a child interested in the story but I personally felt like I wanted to skip past some of the imagination parts and get back to the story. I like the use of color because the whole book was black, white, and orange.

Poems, Masks

Title: Masks (Everything On it)
Author: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: January 2011
ISBN: 0061998168

Bethany's Rating:5/5


Summary: This is a poem about a girl and a boy who always put on a mask to cover their blue skin. They searched their whole lives looking for someone with blue skin with but because they where both hiding their blue they walked by each other and never knew.

 Evaluation: I absolutely love this poem. I read this poem as a child and like referring back to it every once in a while. I think that it is simple but teaches a very important lesson that you need to show who you really are and do not try to be like someone else.  So children will know to be true to themselves.The poem also show the reader that they are not alone. There will always be people who are interested in the same things as you but if you hid it then you will never find them.

Poem, Scale

Title: Scale (Falling Up)
Author: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: January 2006
ISBN: 0060248025

Bethany's Rating:5/5


Summary: This poem is about a guy who is on a scale but cannot see what the scale says because his stomach is in the way.


 Evaluation: I really liked this poem. I remembered reading this as a kid and then going on a scale and sticking on stomach out so that I could not see what the weight said like the person in the poem. I think it is a simple poem to understand.

Poem, LOVE

Title: Love (Book: Where The Side Walk Ends)
Author: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition
Publish Date: January 2015
ISBN: 0060256672

Bethany's Rating:3/5


Summary: This is a poem where each child was a letter of the word love. The only child that could come was the child holding the V.

 Evaluation: I think this is a cute short poem. It shows the child how to spell love.

Historical Fiction, A Fine Desert

Title: A Fine Desert
Author: Emily Jenkins
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Publish Date: January 2015
ISBN: 0375868321

Bethany's Rating:5/5


Summary: This story shows 4 different centuries in 4 different locations all making the same recipe. The first is Lyme, England, 1710, is this era we get to see a little white girl with her Mom. The little girl has to pick the berries, milk the cow and get the cream from the top of the milk and whisk the cream for 15 minutes, she drew water from the well, Smashed the berries, chilled the mixture in the ice pit and then served it after dinner that night. The next family lived in Charleston, South Carolina, 1810. This was an African American family who were servants in the south. They picked berries from the garden, had the cream delivered by the dairy and the little girl whisked the cream for 10 minutes, then she washed the berries in the well, smashed the berries and put the mixture in an ice box till dinner. Then she served it to the master and his family. The next family was from Boston, Massachusetts, 1910. This little girl went to the market bough berries, had cream delivered to their home , and the girl whisked the cream for 5 minuets, she washed the berries in the sink from the faucet, smashed the berries then put the berries in an ice box, after dinner they her family ate the desert. The last family lived in San Diego, California in the current year. This family is a little boy and his dad. They go to the store buy berries and cream, go home and the Dad searches the internet for a recipe. The little boy uses an electric mixer and whisks the cream for 2 minuets, he washes the berries in the sink and then uses a food processor to mash the berries and he puts the mixture in the refrigerator. They serve it after a dinner party with many friend from many different cultures with many different ethnicities. 

 Evaluation: This was my favorite of the three historical fictions books that I read for this blog. The author told exactly was century is was and where in the U.S. is was. She took into account all of the different tools that they would have used in that time period and used the language of what the tools would have been called and even showed an enlarged version of it. I even liked how the author showed that today we are living in world were the boys can do that the cooking and dads can help out were in the past that would have been apropos and I really liked how the author showed the mixed ethnicities in the end showing the mixing pot that America is. I liked how she connected it through the years showing that even though times have changed and how we cook has changed the whole concept of family togetherness is still there with families cooking together and eating together.

Historical Fiction, Coming On Home Soon

Title: Coming On Home Soon
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: 2004
ISBN: 9780399237485

Bethany's Rating:3/4


Summary:  This is story about a little girl named Ada Ruth, living during World War 2. She is an  African American who lives with her mom and her grandma. Her mom tells her that she is going to Chicago to work on the railroad since all of the boys have gone into war. She says that she will write and send money back but Ada Ruth and her Grandmother watch as the post man walks by and do not receive a letter for months. The Grandmother tells Ada Ruth to be strong and that her mother will be home son but Ada Ruth Knows even her Grandma starts to get worried. They wait and wait and finally the postman stops with a letter from Mama saying she is okay. The last page on the book has Mama walking towards the house.


 Evaluation: The story is interesting but I would not pick this book as a good historical fiction book to read to children. A parent or teacher would have to give background information before or after reading the book. The only reason I knew they were talking about World War 2 was from my previous knowledge and then I looked up some reviews just to make sure. I did feel like the emotions felt real and a child would be able to see that Ada Ruth was missing her Mama and was waiting for her to come home. The watercolor pictures in the book were very serene, dark colors were used through the whole story to portray Ada Ruths longing.

Historical Fiction, Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers

Title: Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers
Author: Gloria Whelan
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Publish Date: 2008
ISBN: 1585363529

Bethany's Rating:2/4


Summary:  This is  about the historical story of the 17th and 18th centuries in Japan where governors had to travel over 300 miles between Kyoto and Edo. The story is told from the perspective of a little girl whose father is a governor. Since she is upper class she gets to ride along in a palanquin, which is a box will silk and pillows that is carried by other people holding poles. Yuki was told by her teacher to write Haikus about what she sees while on her journey, so throughout the story the reader gets to read haikus from Yuki's journey.

 Evaluation: The story was interesting but did not have a lot of information in it. There was barely any historical information, most of it was in the cover of the book not in the actual story. Also the book felt like it was a way to get children interested in writing haikus more then anything else. The story did not have any major plot to it. The little girl went on her journey and explained it and arrived at Edo. The most interesting part of the story was when the little girl wanted to get out of her palanquin and walk with the commoners but her mother was weary of letting her walk. Her mother allowed her for a little but made her come right back into the palanquin. I feel like the author could have expanded on this more to show children why the mother would think that way. I do admit that the illustrations are very impressive. I do think of Japanese painting when I see the pictures. 

Informational, Mommy What is Celiac Disease?

Title: Mommy, What is Celiac Disease?
Author: Katie Chalmers
Publisher: Awareness Press, LLC; First edition
Publish Date: 2010
ISBN: 0982871104

Bethany's Rating:5/5


Summary:  This book is about a mom telling a little girl that she has celiac disease.  She tells the little girl what this means and compares what is going on in the little girls body compared to things that the little girl sees in her everyday life. The mother tells the little girl that everyone loves her and that everyone will help her to learn what to eat and what not to eat and the mother says that the little girl will be able to eat a lot of different foods still.

 Evaluation: I think this book is awesome for kids. Kids who have celiac disease or know someone who does like a friend  or relative need to be told about this disease and need to know in a way they will understand. This book shows it by relating it to things kids would know. For example they talk about the intestines and how they look like a pile of worms. This  book shows the positives and how they can treat it s a adventure to find new foods while still being able to eat the old ones. The book also explains how everyone around the child will help the child know what they can and can not eat, so that they are not alone.

Informational, Giant Panda

Title: Giant Pandas
Author: Michelle Levine
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Publish Date: 2011
ISBN: 0761363882

Bethany's Rating:4/5


Summary:  Giant Pandas is an informational book about pandas. It shows children pictures of pandas in the wild and discusses basic attributes of pandas while giving children vocab words. Some of the vocab words that are said in a sentence and then said with a definition are: cub, bamboo, and nurses. This book shows the different parts of a panda, a map of china, where they can be found, and the relationship between and mama panda and her cub.

 Evaluation: I think this would be an excellent story for children to read who love animals, bears, or pandas. It gives simple facts and shows the pandas in the wilderness. The book is also set up like a text book with a index and a glossary at the end. This would be one of the first books a child would have with a glossary and index and I think this is a good way to get them acclimated to one. I also like that the book uses vocab words and then explains the definition so that a child's vocab can expand.

Informational, Yogurt and Cheese and Ice Cream That Pleases

Title: Yogurt and Cheese and Ice Cream That Pleases
Author: Brian P. Cleary
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Publish Date: 2011
ISBN: 0761363882

Bethany's Rating:5/5


Summary:  This was a book about the diary section of the food pyramid. It shows all of the different ways to get dairy. It shows the different kinds of milk someone can drink and why dairy is important for a persons health.

 Evaluation: I though this would be a good book series that a teacher could read to their classroom when they are discussing the food pyramid. The book has fun comical pictures of cats eating and drinking dairy. The book also has a guide on how much dairy should be consumed in a day and different measurements of certain food. For example they show that a slice of Swiss cheese is a half of cup of dairy. I think this is a really good teaching tool.

Fantasy, Maisy Dresses Up

Title: Maisy Dresses Up
Author: Lucy Cousins
Publisher: Candlewick Press 
Publish Date: 1999
ISBN: 100763608858

Bethany's Rating:4/5


Summary:  Maisy the mouse is getting ready to go to Tallulah's costume party. She searches through her costume box but realizes that she wants to make her costume. She makes her costume and surprises everyone by coming as a zebra.

 Evaluation: This is an easy read. The text is printed in a slightly messy font that reminds me of a childs handwriting. I think that this is a good choice of font because children will see this and they will relate it to their handwriting. I like the format of the book where every page turn has a full sized picture on one page and the text on the next page. The colors are bright and bold and there are very think outlines that make the pictures seem friendly and welcoming.

Fantasy, A Treasure at SeaFor Dragon and Me (Water Saftey For kids)

Title: A Treasure at Sea For Dragon and Me (Water Saftey For kids)
Author: Jean E Pendziwol
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publish Date: 2005
ISBN: 1553377214

Bethany's Rating:4/5


Summary:  This story was about a little boy and his dragon at a lake. The story is all rhyming. The little boy and the dragon are trying to find a treasure from their treasure map. The dragon does not know water safety so the little boy teaches him. Some of the things the little boy teaches for example are to never swim without tell your parents you are going into the water, to always swim with a buddy and to watch the signs when swimming. 

 Evaluation: I thought this was a important story for children to read. All of the drawings in this book are colored with colored pencils. I think this is an interesting style and it seems to be relatable  to kids because they will be able to tell it is done with colored pencils. The rhyming scheme used in this story is cute and keeps the readers attention because of the rhythm it provides. I like how the teach lessons during the story and end the end of the book they have a checklist of water safety guidelines that a parent should go through with their children.

Fantasy, Gorky Rises

Title: Gorky Rises
Author: William Steig
Publisher: Square Fish
Publish Date: 1986
ISBN: 0374427844

Bethany's Rating:1/5


Summary:  Gorky Rises is a book about a frog who makes a magic potion and starts to fly. He flies around all day and then tries to land but does not know how. He has to stay awake so that he does not crash into everything and towards morning he realizes that if he slowly lets the potion out of the jar he will fall back to the ground. After a few days of letting the potion out of the bottle he is almost back on the ground. His last few drops of potion he drops out on a rock that looks like an elephant and it turns into a real elephant. Gorky rides  the elephant home to his parents and tell them his adventure.

 Evaluation: I did not like this book. The story line was bland and the character was trying to show off the whole time that he could fly. There was a large amount of text and a lot of the text was filler, not actually contributing to the story.

Realistic Fiction, I, Too, Am America

Title: I, Too, Am America
Author: Langston Hughes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: 2012
ISBN: 1442420081

Bethany's Rating:4/5


Summary:  This book is the Langston Huges poem. This speaker of the poem talkes about how he is "the darker brother" he talks about how he will one day have his own kitchen to eat in and have company in and he will no longer be sent to the back if company comes.

 Evaluation:
I think this is a good short book. It is empowering for African American children who don't feel like they belong. This book shows the children that no matter what the skin color they are still Americans.

Realistic Fiction, Let's Go See Papa!

Title: Let's Go See Papa!
Author: Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publish Date: 2012
ISBN: 0399245405

Bethany's Rating: 5/5 


Summary: 

In this story a little girl lives with her mom, grandmother, and her dog. She writes letters everyday in a notebook to her Papa. Her Papa lives in the United States and works there to be able to support his family by sending money back every week to them. The little girl only gets to talk to her Papa on Sunday mornings and has to make it quick since the call is expensive. One day Papa says to her that she and mama will be coming to live with him soon. The little girl gets upset because she is nervous about being in a new country and does not know if she will make friends, she also is upset that her grandmother will not be coming with them. The story shows over time her getting ready to leave and saying goodbye to her friends. She and her mother get on the plane and as she writes the last letter to Papa she pulls out a new notebook to write letters to her grandmother.

 Evaluation: I though this was a very cute story and one that was very relatable. I know people who have families in other countries that they send money to and I have seen how hard it is to be that far away from home or even creating a new home in a new country. I liked that this story had some Spanish in it for instance the little girl called her grandmother abuela which is what most people in Spanish speaking countries call their grandmother. This makes children feel more at home when they read a book where even some of the language is the same. It shows the child that they are not alone in the world.

Realistic Fiction, The Lemonade Club

Title: Let's Go, See Papa!
Author: Lawrence Schimel
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Publish Date: October 25, 2011
ISBN: 1554981069

Bethany's Rating: 5/5 


Summary: 

This is a story of two little girls who are best friends, Marilyn and Traci. One day as they were walking some girls were bullying Marilyn about her weight. A few weeks later Traci noticed Marilyn was losing a lot of weight and she confronted Marilyn about it. She told Marilyn that not eating was an unhealthy diet and Marilyn said she was not dieting but was losing weight. Marilyn then started to feel faint and pass out. Traci got help and Marilyn was taken to the hospital. Marilyn was diagnosed with leukemia. This story is about the Traci and her teacher helping Marilyn through chemotherapy. Their class is very supportive of Marilyn and even shave their heads to match Marilyn. Marilyn's chemotherapy works and the cancer starts to go away. All of the kids hair starts to grow back but the teacher is still bald. The students realize she has breast cancer. She has to get surgery to get it removed. She gets cleared of cancer and the gets married with all the children at her wedding 5 years later.

 Evaluation: I thought this book was very interesting. The topic was very heavy and I think this book is perfect for children who have or know someone who has cancer. As a child I had two family members who had cancer and I never it was a sickness but I never knew much about their treatments how it affected them. In the story the teacher tells the classroom about Marilyn and how she is going through treatments and she might be very weak some days and need to sit down. This hit me because I remember my mom telling me that my Uncle would be tired and might look a little different and gave me a similar talk. I feel like if I had this book as a kid I would be able to relate to it and understand the situation better.

Folktales, O'Sullivan Stew

Title: O'Sulivan Stew
Author: Hudson Talbott
Publisher: G.P.Putnam's Sons
Publish Date: 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23162-5

Bethany's Rating: 3/5


Summary: This story is about a little girl who tries to help out the witch of the town when the kings men try to take her horse. The little girl runs into town and asks the people for help but no one comes to the rescue and says the witch is not one of them. When the witch realizes that no one came to help she put a curse over the town. The little girl and her family go to try to steal the horse back from the king but they get caught. The little girl convinces the king to let her a her family go is she can tell a story were they were in a worst position and in the end the king lets them go and have the horse.


 Evaluation: The story was good. The tale was long and would need to be read to older children rather then younger. The pictures took up the whole page and the text was written around the pictures. I felt as that the story dragged on and became predictable which is why I think younger children would like this book better then older children.

Traditional Tales, Stories to Solve

Title: Stories to Solve (Folktales from Around The World)
Author: George Shannon
Publisher: HarphyTropy
Publish Date: 2000
ISBN: 0-613-52997-9

Bethany's Rating: 4/5


Summary: This story tells the reader of 14 old wives tales. The book is set up in problem and solution format. Each of the stories are from different areas of the world. For instance, one story was of a man who visited heaven and hell. In heaven and in hell people were forced to sit seven feet from the table and eat with three foot chopsticks, the only difference was that in hell everyone was starving and heaven everyone was fed. The solution was that in heaven they feed each other but in hell they only try to feed themselves.

 Evaluation: I enjoyed this book. I thought that seeing  and learning about different cultures was interesting. The pictures are black and white but I feel like it would have added to the tales if the pictures were in color and decorated with pattern from the different  cultures. It was a fun book that would keep a child's interest.

Traditional Tales, Cinderella

Title: Cinderella
Author: Retold By Cynthia Rylant
Publisher: Disney Press
Publish Date: 2007
ISBN: 1-4231-0421-8

Bethany's Rating: 5/5


Summary: This story is the story of Cinderella. A girl who lost her mother and father and is now living with her step mother and three step sisters. Cinderella is looking for love. The King holds a ball for the Prince so that he can find a princess. Cinderella's stepmother and three step-sisters go to the ball but leave Cinderella behind. Cinderella starts to cry because she has nothing to wear to the ball when a fairy godmother comes to save Cinderella. The fairy godmother gives Cinderella a magical dress and tells her that she has until midnight till the magic wears out. Cinderella goes to the ball and dances with the prince. They fall in love and at midnight Cinderella rushes away. She leaves her slipper behind and the next day the princes workers go into the town to find the girl who the slipper belongs to. They go to Cinderella's house and the three step sisters all try it on but it fits none of them. Cinderella goes to try it on and the step sisters break the shoe. Cinderella says she has the match and brings over the matching shoe. Cinderella and the Prince then live happily ever after.

 Evaluation: I love this rendition of Cinderella. Cynthia Rylant tells in beautifully. The story is told more from the perspective of love and belonging then the way it is usually told. For instance, the godmother is portrayed as not just a god mother but is introduced as a guardian to Cinderella by saying " Cinderella's tears then flowed like a fountain, now for joy, not sadness. She was an orphan no more"  I also enjoyed the interaction between the prince and Cinderella. " How does a young man find his maiden? His heart leads him. He find her in a room. He asks her to dance. And when he touches her, he knows. Cinderella and the young prince danced into a private world all their own. They did not even speak. In silence, Love found them." Rylant brings out the emotion and feeling behind the story which is lost in the newer versions of Cinderella. The pages with text are simple with one color backgrounds and the pages with pictures take up a whole page and are simple.

Picture Books, I Am So Handsome

Title: I Am So Handsome
Author: Mario Ramos
Publisher: Gecko Press
Publish Date: 2012
ISBN: 978-1-877579-19-6

Bethany's Rating: 2/5


Summary: This book is about a wolf who is walking through the forest bragging about how Handsome he is to everyone he passes by. On his journey he runs into little red riding hood, the three pigs, Snow White, and the seven dwarfs. He asks all of the who is the most handsome of them all while insulting them by calling them names. They all respond that he is the most handsome. At the end of the book the wolf walks up to a green gecko and asks who is the most handsome and they gecko breathes fire of the wolf and says that his dad is the most handsome.

Evaluation: I feel that this book has tried to teach the lesson of being humble but I do not think the author did a good job of it. The pictures where fun and nicely painted. The author used bigger words then I would expect to see in a children's book.

Picture Books, Merry Christmas, Spat!

Title: Merry Christmas, Splat!
Author: Rob Scotton
Publisher: Harper
Publish Date: 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-083160-8

Bethany's Rating: 5/5


Summary: This story is about Splat the Cat. Spat has a sidekick that is a mouse named Seymour. Splat is excited for Christmas, he writes Santa and sends the letter when his sister comes up to him and tells him that he wont get a present from Santa because he was not good this year. Splat gets worried that he get any Christmas presents so he starts doing "good deeds." Unfortunately these deeds involve washing already clean dishes and decorating an already decorating tree. Splat stays up all night waiting for Santa and Santa comes without Spat seeing!

 Evaluation: This is a great picture book for kids. The pictures are colorful and make the cats look as though you could reach out and pet them. Its a fun surprising storyline and it keeps a child engaged.

Picture Books, I Was So Mad

Title: I Was So Mad
Author: Mercer Mayer
Publisher: Western Publishing Company, Inc
Publish Date: 2000
ISBN: 0-307-11939-4

Bethany's Rating: 1/5


Summary: The character in this book wants to do all of these different activities, for instance, putting frogs in the tub , juggling with eggs, or tickling the goldfish, his Mom, Dad and Grandpa told him no ever time. He responded with "I was so mad." The Mom, Dad and Grandpa all suggested other activities for the main character to do but he refused to do any of those activities because they were not what he wanted to do. The main character decided to run away, he packs up his wagon and starts to walk out of the front door when his friends see him and ask if he could come play. He asks his mom and she says yes. He goes to hangout with his friends and responds that maybe he will run away tomorrow if he is still mad.

Evaluation: I do not think this would be a good book for a child because I feel that it encourages a child to be rude and a brat. When the character did not get what he wanted he got mad and back talked. When the guardian would suggest a different activity the main character still refused and talked back. The child eventually received what he wanted and then responded with the threat that he might run away the next day if he was mad. I think the pictures were colorful and the words and sentence structure were simple which makes this book a good read for a child, if only the content was stronger.

Decodable Books "Ack"

Title: Ack
Author: N/A
Publisher: The Measured Mom, LLC
Publish Date: 2014
ISBN: N/A

Bethany's Rating: 5/5


Summary: This book shows the reader the ack sound. There are 14 pages in total. The book shows six different examples of at words. The words they use are tack, sack, rack, back, snack, crack.

Evaluation: This is a great book for showing the short a sound Ack. The book shows just the word and then it uses that word in a sentence. I like the book because each of the six words are shown to the reader 3 times. The first time they show just the word, then the word in a sentence and at the end of the book there is a page that reads " I can read!..." and lists the six words. When they show the word for the first time they highlight the Ack sound in the word so that a reader can understand it better.

Decodable Books. "At"

Title: At
Author: N/A
Publisher: The Measured Mom, LLC
Publish Date: 2014
ISBN: N/A

Bethany's Rating: 5/5


Summary: This book shows the reader the at sound. There are 14 pages in total. The book shows six different examples of at words. The words they use are cat, rat, hat, bat, mat and Pat.

Evaluation: This is a great book for showing the short a sound At. The book shows just the word and then it uses that word in a sentence. I like the book because each of the six words are shown to the reader 3 times. The first time they show just the word, then the word in a sentence and at the end of the book there is a page that reads " I can read!..." and lists the six words.

Decodable Books, "Ap"

Title: Ap
Author: N/A
Publisher: The Measured Mom, LLC
Publish Date: 2014
ISBN: N/A

Bethany's Rating: 5/5


Summary: This book shows the reader the ap sound. It uses simple sentences and big font.

Evaluation: This is a great book for showing the short a sound At. The book shows just the word and then it uses that word in a sentence. The pictures along side the sentences add to the learning experience.

Wordless Picture Book, Time Flies

Title: Time Flies
Author: Eric Rohmann
Publisher: Random House Inc.
Publish Date: 1994
ISBN: 0-517-59598-2

Bethany's Rating: 4/5


Summary: Time Flies shows a bird flying through a museum filled with dinosaur bones. As the bird flies through the museum the museum turns into a prehistoric time period. a dinosaur swallows the bird and as the bird goes through the dinosaur the bird ends up back in the museum. 

Evaluation: I think this is a good story for children. The topic is a topic that a large amount of children are interested in. The story will keep the children engaged as the bird flies through out the air through time.  

Wordless Picture Book, Draw!

Title: Draw!
Author: Raul Colon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
Publish Date: 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9492-3

Bethany's Rating: 3/5


Summary:  Draw! is a book about a little boy in his room, reading books on Africa and wild animals and as he is sitting there he is drawing pictures of the animals he sees in the books. As the story continues you see his drawings and you see this boy in Africa seeing the animals walk by as he is drawing. At the end of the book you see the boy later in his room with all of these drawings around him. The last page of the book shows the boy sowing his drawings to the class.

Evaluation: One of the greatest elements of this book is that the images all look like they have been done in color pencils so it looks like the drawings that the little boy is working on. The story is full of imagination but it is not a very detailed story. I would have liked to of seen more added to the story line.

Worldless Picture Book, Bow - Wow's Nightmare Neighbor

Title: Bow -Wow's Nightmare Neighbor
Author: Mark Newgarden and Megan Montague Cash
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publish Date: 2014
ISBN: 978-1-59643-640-4

Bethany's Rating: 4/5


Summary: Bow - Wow's Nightmare Neighbor is about a dog who get woken up by a group of cats who steal his bed. The story shows the adventure of the Bow-Wow trying to find his bed and get it back. He travels throughout a haunted house and eventually finds his bed with many others. He tries to retrieve it was a giant cat comes out to try to stop him. Eventually they become friends and the cats save Bow-Wow's life. Bow-Wow then gets his bed back. 

Evaluation: The colors used in this book were obviously chosen very carefully. The book mainly is done in black, white, and shades of grey. Bow -Wow is yellow and his bed is teal. All of the cats are white. This color scheme makes it interesting for children. The pictures are all very well drawn and cartoon-like. The story line is long and could be confusing at times for a small child. Over-all This is a very well done wordless picture book.