Bear Snores On! (Book & DVD)

Wilson, K. (2002). Bear snores on. New York, NY: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Lee, L. (Executive Producer), Gagne, P., Hirsch, K., Page, M., Schindel, M. (Producers), Cohen, S., Corra, L., Reilly, M. (Producer/directors), & Tercek, K. (Director). (2005). Bear snores on: and more stories to celebrate the seasons [DVD]. New York, NY: Weston Woods studio.

Interest Level: Ages 5 & under
Genre: Picture Book, Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Bears, Hibernation, Seasons,

Plot: Bear sleeps soundly in his cave while one by one different animals crawl in from the snow and throw a party. Everyone is having fun until Bear unexpectedly wakes up and is upset that they were having a party without him. Bear finally joins the party and stays awake until dawn and finds that all of his friends have fallen asleep.

Personal Thoughts: This is one of my favorite books to tell at storytime. The rhyming text is wonderfully suited for reading aloud and offers a variety of opportunities to mimic the different animal’s voices. The acrylic painting illustrations wonderfully depict the softness of the animals, the cold snow outside, and the warmth inside. Children love to gnarl, snarl, roar and snore with the bear.

You can also find this book on DVD. The DVD is wonderfully read in a nice slow tempo by the author Karma Wilson. The same types of illustrations are used from the book mixed with a small amount of stop and go animation. The DVD also contains the stories: Waiting for wings by Lois Ehlert; Come on, rain! by Karen Hesse; Snow cat by Dayal Kaur Khalsa; and Time of wonder by Robert McCloskey.

Other Books in the Series: Bear wants more (2003); Bear feels scared (2008); Bear feels sick (2007); Bear stays up for Christmas (2004); & Bear’s new friend (2006).

Author’s Website: http://www.karmawilson.com/

Get to Work Trucks! (Book)

Carter, D. (2002). Get to work trucks!. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Brook Press.

Interest Level: Ages 5 & under
Genre: Picture Book, Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Trucks, Construction

Plot: Learn about different types of trucks and the jobs they do.  Find the little green turtle as he watches the different trucks build a bridge over his river.

Personal Thoughts: The exceptional 3-D pictures are full of texture and bright strong colors.  While the trucks are the main characters in the story, the truck drivers come in a variety of skin colors, ages, and genders.  Some simple counting and color names are included in the text.  Halfway through the book, the truck drivers stop working when a little turtle crosses the street.  In the last half of the book you can see the tiny turtle climbing on, over, and around the different trucks.  The text is comprised of simple sentences to keep the story going.  It’s the illustrations that will really keep the readers coming back.

Other Books by the Author: Old MacDonald drives a tractor (2007); Illustrated Hello school (2001) & Wake up house! (2000) by Dee Lilegard.

Similar Books: Duck in the truck (2000) by Jez Alborough; My truck is stuck (2002) by Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk.

Beach is to Fun: a book of relationships (Book)

Brisson, P. (2004). Beach is to fun: a book of relationships. New York, NY: Henry Holt & Company.

Interest Level: Ages 5 & under
Genre: Picture Book, Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Relationships, Same, Opposites, Beach, Stories in Rhyme

Plot: The reader follow a pair of children through their day as they get ready to visit the beach. Rhyming analogies take the children from school, home, to the park, to the beach, and back home again.

Personal Thoughts: The bright acrylic and pastel illustrations, done by Sachiko Yoshikawa, are full of happy children on their way to the beach. Each page is surprisingly full of little details that encourage the reader to linger. Each page of text follows the same type of rhyming analogy such as “Claws are to crab as hands are to me.” Unfortunately, a few of the analogies made are no always so clear. For example “toss is to catch as fast is to slow” had me wondering what sort of connection the author was trying to make between the two. But generally they work, if they are sometimes stretched to fit the rhyming scheme. The text does read wonderfully aloud with flowing rhymes that create a natural song-like rhythm. The title is a great summer themed storytime addition and can be used to start a discussion on analogies.

Author Website: Contains study/reading guides to use with his books - http://www.enter.net/~brisson/books.htm

Other Books by the Author: Hobbledy-clop (2003); Tap Dance Fever (2004); Wanda’s Roses (1994)

Wow! Said the Owl (Book)

Hopgood, T. (2009). Wow! said the owl. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Interest Level: Ages 5 & under
Genre: Picture Book, Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Colors, Owls, Night, Day

Plot: A little owl stays up when she should be sleeping because she is curious of what there is to see during the day.  Throughout the day she sees all the beautiful different colors but in the end she thinks the stars at night are still the most beautiful thing of all.    

Personal Thoughts: The illustrations in the book brightly depict each of the amazing colors owl sees.  The owl says “Wow!” upon seeing each color, from the yellow of the sun to the red butterflies.  Colors she would never had normally seen since she usually sleeps through the day.  The book does a nice job explaining why owls aren’t normally awake during the day, how they can see in the dark, and that this little owl took a nap in order to stay awake longer.  The text is simple to read with the line “Wow! Said the owl” at the start of most pages making it a good addition to group storytimes.  Color names are depicted in bold text to help children recognize them easier.  The last page has a color wheel and encourages the reader to go back and find all the different colors in the story.

Author Website: http://www.timhopgood.com/

Similar Books: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? (1967) By Bill Martin and Eric Carle

Cyber-bullying, Freedom of Speech, and Schools

Discussion of the article: 'A right for students to be cruel online?'.

Kim, V. (2009, December 13). A right for students to be cruel online?; With schools meting out discipline over cyber-bullying, some parents and courts are fighting back. Los Angeles Times, p. A.1.  Retrieved September 28, 2010, from Los Angeles Times. (Document ID: 1920177651).

This article talks about the role of schools in controlling “cyber-bullying” between students and whether it infringes on a student’s right to free speech.  Some specific cases were cited of schools suspending students for cyber-bullying that led to court decisions.  The students had posted videos on YouTube or created MySpace pages “bad-mouthing” other students or teachers and encouraging others to express similar opinions.  Kim argues that schools are overreacting to a report of a teen’s suicide due to cyber-bullying and therefore “excessively crack down on student expression when it comes to the Internet” (2009, para. 8).  Opposing arguments state that “cyber-bullying is far more serious and the consequences are a little more severe” than normal bullying and should be treated as such (Maples, 2007, para. 21).   

There is a history of debate about the First Amendment rights of minors.  To get a general idea, just check out ALA’s long list of Notable First Amendment Court Cases.  But is it a student’s First Amendment right to say nasty and mean spirited things about others? Unfortunately sometimes yes. Kim (2009) quotes two different attorneys that argue that it should not make a difference if the audience they reach is in person or online, a person has a right to express their opinion.  I would agree with this expect that online people can post their opinions without ever revealing who they are which allows a lack of responsibility for one’s actions.

I agree that everyone, adults and minors, should have the right to express their opinions freely without fear of punishment.  In order to protect the freedom of speech for all, we really must let all opinions be heard, good and bad.  ALA supports a person’s universal right to free expression and endorses the United Nations General Assimbly's Universal Declaration of Human Rights statement that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion” which includes the “freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.” But ALA’s support for freedom of speech does not tolerate the bullying of others.

Unfortunately, cyber-bullying falls into a murky area of law and educational policy (Kim, 2009).  Schools are often expected to mete out punishment when bullying occurs on campus but are trying to figure out where they stand and how they should be expected to react to online bullying.  I feel that schools should treat cases of cyber-bullying on a case-by-case basis much like they do regular bullying.  They should only be stepping in when it occurs on campus or through a campus computer.  When the school is made aware of off campus situations they should pass this information on to parents or in extreme situations law officials for them to handle. 

                         

It never hurts to repeat that parents should be aware of what their children are doing both online and off.  Cyber-bullying is a very real issue and needs to be talked over with children in some of the same ways that we talk with them about drugs and sex.  Check out some of these websites for more information on cyber-bullying and how to prevent it.

Suggested Websites (all last Retrieved September 28, 2010):

STOPCyberbullying.org

Tackling School Bullying

Stop Bullying Now

KidsHealth.org

ALA’s Additional Resources for Bullying

Enchantress from the Stars (Book)

Engdahl, S. (1970). Enchantress from the stars. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: Ages 11 & up

Subjects/Themes: Space Travel; Point of View; Colonization

Plot: Elana, Georyn and Jarel are each from a different civilization.  Georyn lives in a medival style world that believes in magic and dragons.  Georyn’s civilization is considered “young” by Elana’s people and aren’t even considered human by Jarel’s.  Jarel’s people believe only in technology and travel throughout space looking for new resources.  They have just landed on Georyn’s planet intending to move all the native people out of the way and colonize it with their own.  Sneaking onboard her father’s ship in order to visit Georyn’s world, Elana must help in a mission to save Georyn’s world from being taken over by Jarel’s people.  Only no one can find out who she really is or why she’s there.  If they ever did the consequences could be endless. 

Sequel: The far side of evil (1971). An older teen or adult reading audience is suggested for the sequel by the author on her website.  

Personal Thoughts:  This is a very hard book to start reading.  Elana’s dialogue can be a little long winded and seemingly pointless to the story at times.  If you can make it pass the first chapter or two, then the story becomes more interesting and the characters more “real.”  Georyn’s part in the story reads more easily and similar to an old fashion fairy tale.  Personally I was disappointed in Elana’s ability to act seriously considering the circumstances and her background.  Elana is more of a “youngling” while Georyn is regularly “wise” and understanding of his situation.  Readers will feel Jarel’s compassion and frustration in the story and his desire to make a difference, no matter how small.  The story highlights how differently people can view a situation based on what they are familiar with.  A good book for older tween and teen readers, the story provides multiple opportunities to discuss issues of colonization, reasons for different viewpoints, and responsibility.

Awards:

Newberry Honor Book (1971)

Children’s Literature Association Phoenix Award (1990)

Other Books by Author: Children of the star (2000)

Author’s Website: http://www.sylviaengdahl.com/index.htm

Similar Materials: My teacher is an alien by Bruce Coville (1989); The house of scorpion by Nancy Farmer (2002).

Note: A copy of this blog entry can also be found at https://tweenscifi.wordpress.com/ as part of my contributrion to a group collection of Notable Science Fiction titles for Tweens created for a LIBR 264 genre project. 

What advertisers know about Tweens...

“’Tween’ is the designer label of the hour, with a fresher sound than the hand-me-down ‘preteen,’ a shinier look than the shopworn ‘teen’ and a cooler aura than ‘kid.’” (Hulbert, 2004, p. 31)

Reflection:  How do marketer's understanding of tweens impact our understanding of the age group?

Subjects: Advertising to Tweens, Tween Trends, Tween Indentity Building

           Hulbert takes a look a tweens from a marketing point of view in her article.  Her view is heavily based on a presentation given by IDEO, a design company from Palo Alto, to manufacturing companies such as Hasbro.  Hulbert argues that marketing advertisements have created a generation of fashion and fad focused tweens by eroding at children’s ability to “sublimate their urges into creative and cognitive achievement” (2004, para. 4).  Instead children are encouraged to channel those energies into collecting and trading items (Hulbert, 2004) which may create the constant need to acquire material things.  Isn’t it interesting that manufacturing companies understand a tween’s innate need for a large variety of choices that helps them shape their identity?

          I don’t think that Hulbert is too far off the mark when I look at TV shows such as MTV’s My Super Sweet 16  and Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.  So called “reality” shows sending the message that shallowness, fashion, partying, and beauty are the norm.  While older teens or adults may watch these shows and laugh (or cringe) at the outrageous antics and viewpoints of some of the characters, tweens may interpret it as something to strive for.  The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) states that during the tween phase of development it is normal for them to struggle with a sense of identity, to feel awkward about their body, and feel increased peer pressure about clothing.  We need to ask ourselves, during this time when they are struggling with these issues and just starting to develop their sense of self, do we really want “reality” show stars such as mentioned above to become tween role models?

          Hulbert warns in her last line that parents also act as role models for a tweens behavior.  Though she was talking more about fiscal responsibility, it is equally true that parents are role models for all other types of behaviors and thinking.  It is the parent who allows a tween to have a TV or computer in their room.  It is still parents providing tweens with the majority of their spending money.   

References:

Hulbert, A. (2004, November). Tweens 'r' us. New York Times Magazine, 6.31.  Retrieved September 23, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 749942491). 

Among the Hidden (Book)

Haddix, M. (1998). Among the hidden. New York, NY: Aladdin. 

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: Age 9 to 12

Subjects/Themes: Free Will, Isolation, Government Control, Population Problems, Food Distribution

Plot:  Luke lives isolated from the rest of the world.  He’ll never go to school or shopping or to a friend’s house.  He’ll never meet anyone outside of his immediate family.  He’s grandparents don’t even know that he exists.  This is because Luke is the third child born in a time where resources are so scarce families are only allowed two.  Being stuck inside all the time, Luke has nothing to pass the time except watch his new neighbors as they come and go.  That’s when Luke notices someone else moving around in the neighbor’s house when no one should be home.  That’s when Luke decides to take a risk and investigate in person.  And that’s when Luke meets Jen, another third child.  But Jen thinks third children shouldn’t have to hide.  She thinks they should be able to live freely like everyone else.  And she plans to do something about it whether Luke helps her or not. 

Personal Thoughts: A great read, this book will have children reaching for the next books in the series as soon as they finish the first.  The world in which Luke lives in is described in such a way that makes it a frighteningly real possible future.  Young boys will relate to Luke’s yearnings to be able to play outside, run, shout, and play without the fear of being found.  Readers who get frustrated by Luke’s obedience will find themselves enjoying Jen’s big and small shows of defiance.  The last few chapters of the book pick up a suspenseful pace and the ending doesn’t disappoint.

Awards:

ALA Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults (1999)

ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2000)

Bank Street College’s Children’s Book Committee’s "Best Children’s Books of the Year" for 12 & Up from 1998 to 2008. (http://www.bankstreet.edu/bookcom/best_twelveup.html)

State Readers Choice Awards (voted on by kids):

California Young Readers Medal

Maud Hart Lovelace Award (Minnesota)

Nevada Young Readers' Award

Great Stone Face Award (New Hampshire)

Nutmeg Children's Book Award (Connecticut)

Sunshine State Young Readers' Award (Florida)

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award

Young Hoosier Book Award (Indiana)

Indian Paintbrush Book Award (Wyoming)

Iowa Children's Choice Award

Other Books by in the Shadow Children Series: Among the Imposters (Bk. 2); Among the Betrayed (Bk. 3); Among the Barons (Bk. 4); Among the Brave (Bk. 5); Among the Enemy (Bk. 6); Among the Free (Bk.7)

Author’s Website: http://www.haddixbooks.com/home.html#

Note: A copy of this blog entry can also be found at https://tweenscifi.wordpress.com/ as part of my contributrion to a group collection of Notable Science Fiction titles for Tweens created for a LIBR 264 genre project.

The Girl with the Silver Eyes (Book)

Roberts, W. (1980). The girl with the silver eyes. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: Ages 9 to 12

Subjects/Themes: Gifted children; Telekinesis;

Plot: Ten year old Katie has just moved from the country to the city to live with her mother after her grandma’s death.  She hopes the city will be different and that maybe this time she can make some friends.  But it’s hard to make friends when everyone thinks that you’re peculiar.  It’s not Katie’s fault that she can move things with her mind.  It was something she was born knowing how to do.  Some people like to blame her for all the bad unexplainable things that happen when she’s around even when it’s not her fault.  And now there’s a new neighbor asking questions about Katie and about her grandma’s suspicious death. Just when Katie thinks she’s all alone, she finds out that she might not be the only silver eyed child around.  Katie races to find the three other silver eyed children hoping they’ll be able to help her from getting locked up.          

Personal Thoughts:  Gifted children will find a connection with Katie’s story of not being able to fit in.  Katie tends to be a serious child.  While she does at times use her powers for mischief, she is also a good kid who is trying to understand why the grownups in her life are so nervous around her.  She feels detachment from her busy divorced parents that other children from divorce families can understand.  When she finds out that there are other children like her, you see her need to find them stems from a need to feel less alone and more “normal” without changing who she is.  The book ends with the children and their families uniting to support the children’s future.    

Awards:

Mark Twain Readers Award Winner (1983)

California Young Reader Medal (1986)

Other Books by Author: Buddy is a stupid name for a girl (2001); The one left behind (2006)

Similar Materials:  A gift of magic (1999) by Lois Duncan; Hidden Talents (1999) by Dave Lubar

Note: A copy of this blog entry can also be found at https://tweenscifi.wordpress.com/ as part of my contributrion to a group collection of Notable Science Fiction titles for Tweens created for a LIBR 264 genre project.

Kitten's First Full Moon (Book)

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten's first full moon. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Interest Level: 5 and under
Genre: Picture Book;
Subjects/Themes: Cats; Moon; Caldecott Winner;

Plot: A little kitten confuses the moon for a big bowl of milk.  We follow her as tumbles, climbs and runs while trying to catch the moon.  After being dunked in a pond, the kitten finally finds a bowl of milk waiting for her at home.

Personal Thoughts: The book is a Caldecott winner and that alone says a lot about the quality of this book.  The soft black, white and grey illustrations go wonderfully with the story.  They invoke the quiet peaceful night and the excitement of the kitten.  Children will feel for the poor sad innocent kitten and be so happy once she gets her milk.  The text is easy to read with words familiar to young children such as sad, tired, kitten, and moon.  A great bedtime story or pet themed storytime. 

Awards: Caldecott Winner (2005)
Something to Note: Kitten’s First Moon is also available in Spanish.  Other Books by the Author: Chrysanthemum (1991); Sheila Rae, the brave (1987)
Author’s Website: http://www.kevinhenkes.com/default.asp

To Be a Kid (Book)

Ajmera, M., & Ivanko, J. (1999). To be a kid. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

Interest Level: 8 and under
Genre: Non-Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Multicultural; Children in different countries.

Plot: A simple book with one sentence per page that describes an activity that children all over the world take part in.  Each sentence starts with the repetitive “To be a kid means…." The last page in the book talks about each of the activities that was shown in the book such as famililes, school, and friends. 

Personal Thoughts: The simplistic text is great for younger children beginning to read or being read to.  The multiple pictures are full of different kids in action.  Each photo has the country from which it came from listed below.  The pictures are also a great resource for older children doing country or culture reports. 

Other books by the Authors: Let the games begin (non-fiction multicultural sports theme); Come out and play (non-fiction multicultural play theme)   

Power of Un (Book)

Etchemendy, N. (2000). The power of un. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: 9 to 13 years

Subjects/Themes: Time Travel; Siblings;

Plot: Gib has just had one of the worst days of his life.  First he got into a fight with Rainy, his lab partner in science. Then Gib got her in trouble at school.  Now to get back at him, Rainy refuses to babysit Gib’s sister Roxy and he’s forced to take her to the big carnival.  That means no scary rides and therefore no fun as far as Gib is concerned.  That’s when Gib meets a mysterious old man in the woods who gives him a device that will allow him to ‘undo’ time and fix his mistakes.  Now Gib is desperately trying to undo a series of events that turn his bad day into a deadly one.

Personal Thoughts: A reader can easily identify with the chain of events happening in Gib’s life.  Gib comes from a stereotypically normal and happy family living in an apparently safe small town.  Boys with little sisters will especially understand both Gib’s love of and annoyance with his little sister.  I did have a hard time believing in the amount of freedom Gib has to wander alone both in the woods and at the carnival.  Gib’s honesty with his parents about talking to a stranger was reassuring, even if he did hide the content of the conversation.  Besides Gib, the characters in the story are fairly simple, providing to the story but not distracting from it.  Thought provoking, this book tackles issues such as free-will and consequences both big and small.  Younger children might be upset with the occurrence of deadly scenes, entirely realistic, that Gib is trying to prevent, but will be reassured with a happy ending.

Awards:

Bram Stoker Award Winner for Horror for Young Readers (2000)

Golden Duck’s Eleanor Cameron Award Winner for Middle Grades (2001)

Georgia Children's Book Award Winner for Grade 4 to 8 (2002/2003)

Other Books by Author: Cat in Glass and Other Tales of the Unnatural (2002). A dark fantasy collection for young adults. ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults list (2002).

Similar Materials:  A Wrinkle in Time (1962) by Madeleine L'Engle.

Note: A copy of this blog entry can also be found at https://tweenscifi.wordpress.com/ as part of my contributrion to a group collection of Notable Science Fiction titles for Tweens created for a LIBR 264 genre project. 

Adoration of Jenna Fox (Book)

Pearson, M. (2008). The adoration of Jenna Fox. New York, NY: Henry Holt.

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: 13 & Up

Subjects/Themes: Teenage Girls; Traffic Accidents; Self-Awareness; Medical Ethics; Bio-Robotics

Plot: Jenna has just woken up after being in a coma for over a year with almost no memory.  More quickly than normal, she gets used to moving around and starts recovering her memories.  But Jenna has questions, questions about the accident no one talks about, questions about the person she was, and questions about who or what she is now.

Personal Thoughts:  This is a very well written and thought provoking story about an entirely possible future.  The story deals constantly with the theme of self-identity as Jenna examines her every thought and questions her interactions with others.  Medical ethics and the question of “how far should you go for someone you love?” is another major theme.  Story also highlights the importance of standing up for one’s self.  The reading is easy enough for younger readers interested (12 & up), except possibly for some quotes from Walden.  There are some short but sweet kissing scenes found mostly outside of the main story.  A short interaction with a possible psychopath leaves a message to the reader to be careful and follow your instincts.  I would recommend for older female tweens who appreciate reflective first person narratives or science fiction.  

Awards: YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (2009)

Other Books by Author: Scribbler of Dreams (2001)

Similar Materials:  Pretties by Westerfeld; Skinned by Wasserman.

Note: A copy of this blog entry can also be found at https://tweenscifi.wordpress.com/ as part of my contributrion to a group collection of Notable Science Fiction titles for Tweens created for a LIBR 264 genre project. 

The "Middle" Child aka Tweens

Reflection: How does having a separate school category (Middle) affect our understanding of tweens?

Subjects: Tween Development, Teaching Strategies, Importance of Understanding Tweens as a Separate Group  

            I feel that having a separate Middle school category helps us to better understand the developmental needs of tweens.  In separating them into a category at the school level, we are more easily able to separate them in our minds in other areas such as physical development, social development, and general interests which lead us towards developing appropriate strategies in order to better serve them.  Without a middle school category, it would be too tempting to lump tweens into either a child or teen category.

            Educators are already ahead of the game developing strategies in order to better meet middle school students’ needs.  Weiner (2007) presents a variety of instructional activities based around the PIES (Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social development) of young adolescents and argues that many of the annoying behaviors of middle school students that frustrate educators, such as the inability to sit still, are based on common developmental issues.  Teachers can their understanding of young adolescent PIES to promote a learning environment where young adolescents can succeed by working with rather then against common issues, such as having students move from one learning station to another in set intervals in order to combat restlessness (Weiner, 2007). 

            It isn’t only schools that understand the differences between children, tweens, and teens.  The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has created separate lists on adolescent development for middle school/early high school and for older high school teenagers.  The Search Institute has also created developmental assets lists for ages 5 to 9, ages 8 to 12, and ages 12 to 18.  As Anderson (2007) and Lesesne (2006) both discuss, tweens are experiencing so many different developmental transitions (physically, mentally emotionally, and socially) which they may need help with or information on.  Librarians can help tweens deal with these transitions by providing materials and programming that center on tween issues.  Librarians can use the strategies and information provided from similar sources to those mentioned above in order to make better decisions on the types of materials and programs provided for tweens.

Reference:

Anderson, S. (2007). Serving young teens and ‘tweens. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. 

Lesesne, T. (2006). Naked reading: Uncovering what tweens need to become lifelong readers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. 

Weiner, C. (2007). Understanding Kids in the Middle. Principal (Reston, Va.), 86(4), 74-5. Retrieved September 14, 2010 from Education Full Text database. 

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (Book)

Cabrera, J. (2009). One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. New York, NY: Holiday House.

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 5
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Nursery Rhymes, Counting, Rhyming Stories

Plot: Based on the popular nursery rhyme, the reader counts from 1 to 20 while following a blue bunny as she meets a big red hen and some pigs to throw a party.  In each scene four little chicks are playing a game of hide and seek with the reader, adding a playful element to an already playful story. 

Personal Thoughts:  The rhymes for the bunny’s story and the chick’s story flow separately very well, but woven together there is a bit of rhyming awkwardness.  I suggest you choose to read only the bunny's story if your reading for a storytime and just prompt the children beforehand to look for the chicks.  The illustrations are colorful oil paintings reminiscent of Easter.  The title is a useful addition to a library which is looking to add a new counting, farm animal, or nursery rhyme title to its collection.

Other Books by Author: Over in the Meadow (2000); and If your happy and you know it! (2005).
Author's Website: http://www.janecabrera.co.uk/ (Retrieved September 14, 2010)

Crunch munch dinosaur lunch! (Book)

Bright, P. (2010). Crunch munch dinosaur lunch!. Intercourse, PA : Good Books.

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Dinosaurs, Siblings

Plot: Ty is a big, mean, hungry dinosaur. Teri is Ty’s small and sweet little sister.  After following Ty and embarrassing him one too many times, Teri is left by herself and attacked by another big bad dinosaur until Ty comes and saves his baby sister.

Personal Thoughts: Dinosaur books are almost always a sure hit.  The illustrations in this book are full of bright scaled dinosaurs with expressive faces that pop out against a lush green background.  This is a good book for a sibling or dinosaur themed storytime.  The text is easy to read aloud with lots of opportunities to use loud dinosaur voices. 

Other Books by Author: Nobody Laughs at a Lion (2005); and Charlie's Superhero Underpants(2010).

Chicken Cheeks (Book)

Black, M. (2009). Chicken cheeks (the beginning of the ends). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-1-4169-4864-3

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Buttocks, Anatomy

Plot: This is a simple story about a bear trying to get some honey out of a tree while describing different animals’ back ends.

Personal Thoughts: Children will get a laugh out of the phrases such as “turkey tush” and “flamingo fanny.”  Each page shows the different animals standing on one another’s head to form a ladder.  The last page shows them all falling down after running into the “bumblebee bum” guarding the honey.  The illustrations of the animals are comically rendered against the bright sky blue background.  This is a great book for a laugh during bathroom or body part themed storytimes, even if a bit short.

Other Books by Author: The Purple Kangaroo (2010); and A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea (2010).

Bears! Bears! Bears! (Book)

Barner, B. (2010). Bears! Bears! Bears! San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book, Non-Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Bears, Stories in Rhyme,

Plot: A non-fiction picture book about eight different species of bears found around the world.  Includes a map with living locations. 

Personal Thoughts: A picture book about bears may be nothing new, but some of the exotic bears the reader is introduced to may be, such as the sloth and moon bears of Asia.  Simple sentences and rhyming text make this a great book for young readers.  Older bear-loving readers will appreciate the different facts about baby bears and the world map showing where the different bears are found.  The simple illustrations are composed from collages that are full of simple earth colors that fit the story and audience well.    

Other Books by Barner: Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! (1999); and Stars, stars, stars (2002).
Author Website: http://www.bobbarner.com/ (Retrieved September 14, 2010)

LMNO Peas (Book)

Baker, K. (2010). LMNO Peas. New York, NY: Beach Lane Books

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: ABCs, Peas, Occupations, Rhyming

Plot: From A to Z little green peas described their many favorite occupations.

Personal Thoughts: A must have ABC book. Each “alphabet pea” is a small smiling green circle with little arms and legs.  The rhyming text smoothly names the different occupations of peas, from “acrobats” to “zoologists.”  Occupations named range from the familiar “teachers” to the possibly less so “electricians.” Depicted in large block font with brightly texturized colors, each letter is surrounded by the different peas.  A great addition to an ABC or occupation storytime theme, the last “Who are you?” line provides an opening into a “what do you want to be when you grow up?" talk.

Other Books by Baker: Quack and Count; Hickory Dickory Dock.
Author Website: http://www.keithbakerbooks.com/ (Retrieved September 14, 2010)

Good Night Moon (Book)

Brown, M. W. (1947). Goodnight moon. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Interest Level: Ages 3 and under
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Bedtime Stories, Rabbits

Plot: A little rabbit, getting ready for bed, names all the items in the "great green room" and then proceeds to tell each of those items goodnight. 

Personal Thoughts: The illustrations in this book, done by Clement Hurd, are seemingly simple yet full of detail.  The text with its simple rhymes has you searching the room for each of the items named.  The reader can feel time pass and the night grow darker with each new page of the room.  The last page is especially reminiscent of bedtime with the lights turned off and splashes of brightness coming from the fireplace and windows.  A long time classic book that has withstood 50+ years this book is great for a bedtime themed storytime or flannel board story.    

Other Books by Margaret Wise Brown: Runaway Bunny; My World.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Book)

Numeroff, L. J. (1985). If you give a mouse a cookie. New York, NY: Harper & Row. ISBN: 978-0-0602-4586-3

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book, Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Cause and Effect, Consequences, Mice,

Plot: A little boy gives a mouse a cookie and as a result the mouse starts asking for one thing then another, starting a chain reaction of requests that ultimately results in asking for another cookie.

Personal Thoughts: The illustrations in the book, done by Felicia Bond, are simple and flow perfectly with the words in the book, helping to draw your eye from left to right while reading. As a child, I remember my amusement that one action (giving the mouse the cookie) would cause a series of reactions that would ultimately lead back to the mouse wanting another cookie. Which would also mean I would want to return to the first page to reread the book immediately. The story definitely teaches young impulsive children to try and think ahead and to be aware of possible consequences to their actions. I really like that the book teaches about consequences in a positive and funny manner, rather then a negative one.

Other Books in the Series: If you give a moose a muffin; If you give a pig a pancake;
Author Website: http://www.lauranumeroff.com/ (Retrieved September 5, 2010)

The Lightning Thief (Book)

Riordan, R. (2005). The lightning thief. New York, NY: Miramax Books.

Interest Level: Ages 9 to 12
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Olympian Gods, Action Adventure, First Person Narrative

Plot: Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea, and a mortal woman named Sally. Being the half-blood son of a Greek God means that Percy will develop some of the gifts of the gods but it also means that he has ADHD and dyslexia since his brain is meant to read and write in ancient Greek. His two best friends are Grover, a satyr (half man and half goat), and Annabeth, the daughter of Athena the Greek Goddess of Wisdom. Together they travel to Los Angeles on a quest to find the entrance to the Underworld where they hope to find Zesus’s Master Lightning Bolt which has been stolen. Along the way they must battle Medusa, the Furies, and Ares, the Greek God of war.

Series Info: Book One of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series. Sequel: The Sea of Monsters.
Awards: YALSA Best Book for Young Adults 2005; A Best Book of 2005, Child Magazine; A Best Book of 2005, School Library Journal

Personal Thoughts: Written in first person, this book is an action packed rollercoaster ride. Each chapter is short but filled with something exciting happening. The main character is struggling with a variety of personal issues that teens can relate to such as: in school Percy has both academic and behavioral problems; he has a terrible step-father; and he is struggling with finding out his real dad is alive.  The was a movie made based on the book.  Check out the Percy Jackson Movie Website for more details.

Similar materials: Yolen, J., & Robert, J. H. (2001). Odysseus in the serpent maze. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

I Spy (Book)

Marzollo, J., & Wick, W. (1997). I Spy: Little book. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Format: Board Book
Interest Level: Baby to 3 years
Subjects/Themes: Puzzle, Board Book

Book Information: The I Spy book is based on the old children’s “I Spy with my little eye” game. The reader is prompting by riddles or lists, often written in rhyme, to find the different objects hidden within a picture. The reader is prompted to look for two items per picture with the picture of each item shown with the text making it a great vocabulary tool. This also makes it unnecessary for the child to be able to read words and yet still enjoy the book making it age appropriate. In its board book format, this series also helps a child learn to read from left to right. The left page has the text with the matching pictures while the right hand page has the picture search.

Personal Thoughts: I think these books are absolutely wonderful! The use of pictures of real objects are a fun way to help teach a child to identify different objects and their spelling.  A great choice for children developing their sight word recognition skills.

Series Info: Adapted from the I Spy Picture Book series by Jean Marzollo & Walter Wick.
Website: http://www.scholastic.com/ispy/books/index.htm (Retrieved September 5, 2010).
Similar materials: Sheppard, K. (2010). Animal I spy: What can you spot?. New York, NY: Kingfisher.

Geronimo Stilton (Book)

Stilton, G. (2006). Valentine’s day disaster. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Interest Level: Ages 9 to 12
Genre: Fiction, Humor, Stories told by Animals
Subjects/Themes: Mice, Newspapers

Plot: Geronimo Stilton, a mouse and newspaper editor, is getting ready to throw his annual Valentine’s Day party for all of his friends. Unfortunately Geronimo keeps running into problems, such as the newspapers not getting delivered, the food getting ruined, and the lights going out, as well as running into things and getting hurt. Luckily for Geronimo Cheesy Lou, a cowmouse country singer, helps him solve all of his problems throughout the day.

Personal Thoughts: Noticing that the entire series of Geronimo Stilton is almost ALWAYS checked out at my library, I decided to review this book. Personally I found the book a bit difficult to read due to the graphic text used throughout but I could see why the same thing might interest tweens. The book is riddled with countless pictures that help tell the story and would be useful to struggling readers. The story itself goes very quickly with events constantly happening and being resolved. The only thing that bothered me with the story was it was never explained why Cheesy Lou, a complete stranger, was helping Geronimo. The book also contains useful information about Valentine’s Day history, safety tips, and activity ideas.

Series Info: While the author credit is given to Geronimo Stilton (the main character of the book), the actual author is Elisabetta Dami who originally wrote the series in Italian. The series currently contains 42 books. There is also a spin off series about Stilton’s sister Thea.

Similar materials: Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (harder read); Captain Underpants by Dave Pilkey (same reading level)

Phineas & Ferb (Cartoon)

Walt Disney Television Animation. (2007). Phineas and Ferb [Animated television series]. Burbank, CA: Disney Channel.

Interest Level: Ages 6 to 14
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Cartoon
Subjects/Themes: Stepbrothers, Friendship, Siblings, Family, Creativity, Imagination.

Plot: Phineas and Ferb (stepbrothers) create incredible projects in an attempt to find something to do during each day of their summer vacation while their older sister Candice tries to convince their mom of what the brothers are doing when she’s not around to see. Meanwhile unknown to anyone, their pet platypus Perry, aka secret agent P, foils the attempts of Dr. Doofenshmirtz from taking over the city.

Personal Thoughts: This cartoon is great for those children who grew up with shows like American Idol . Almost every cartoon in the series contains a new catchy jingle related to the story. The cartoon itself is very positive in nature with strong themes of friendship, family and creativity. While the story line is simple making it more appropriate for young children, tweens watching the cartoon will be able to relate to the older sister while still enjoying the cartoon.

Awards: 2008, 2009 & 2010 Emmy Nominations; 2009 & 2010 Kids Choice Award Nominations.