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.