The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Most people are familiar with The Three Little Pigs, but this story is one that will surprise you in an amazing way!

Summary:  The Three Pigs, by David Wiesner, won the Caldecott Medal Award in 2002.  This version of the famed fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs, starts out in the traditional way where a wolf finds pigs living in houses made out of straw, sticks, and bricks.  He intends to huff and puff and blow the houses down to eat the pigs.  The twist in this story is that the wolf blows so hard that he blows the first pig right out of the story.   He suggests to the second pig to join him because of the safety found outside the pages of the story.  All three pigs make a paper airplane out of one of the pages from the story and find themselves in the nursery rhyme, “Hey Diddle, Diddle.”  After leaving that story, they find themselves in another story with a dragon.  They help the dragon escape his story and the four of them, along with the cat from “Hey Diddle, Diddle”, look at pages from other stories.  They decide to return to the pig’s original story where the wolf is greeted by quite a surprise.

Qualitative Analysis:  The text of this book, told in the third-person perspective, is comfortable for the reader, although the meaning and purpose is more abstract where the reader is left to identify it as the story unfolds.  The main idea is not explicitly stated at the beginning of the reading.  The organization of the book includes transitions from one story to the next by the use of different artwork in the illustrations.  The font of the text changes depending on which part of the story is taking place.  According to the copyright page, four different types of fonts and sizes were used throughout the story.  Speech bubbles are used when the pigs, dragon, and cat are speaking when they are not in their original stories.  On the last three pages, portions of the text is scattered all over the pages to make it look like the wolf had blown the letters all around.  The illustrations use mixed mediums.  Once again, according to the copyright page, the artwork was done in watercolor, gouache, colored inks, pencil and colored pencil on Fabriano hot press paper.  When the animals are in their original story, they are illustrated using one type of artwork and when they are outside of their story, they are illustrated using a different medium.  When the animals are shown leaving their original story, the character is illustrated using both, showing both worlds in which they are falling into.  The pages for each story are clearly defined by the straight lines of a page.  When the story is taking place outside of the original story, the animal illustrations are on a white background without any borders.  It would be helpful for the reader to have some background knowledge of the story of “The Three Little Pigs” before reading this text, but that is not necessary.  Cultural or prior knowledge is not needed to enjoy and comprehend this book.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Picture Book

Age or Interest Level:  Ages 5-8, Grades K-3

Reading Level:  Accelerated Reader RL: 2.3, FLR: 2.4

Awards:  Caldecott Medal, 2002

Personal thoughts:   The illustrations in this book are amazing!  The more I analyzed this book the more I appreciated the story and artwork that went into the making of this book.

Bibliographic Information:  Weisner, D. (2001), The Three Pigs, New York: Clarion Books

This culturally rich story demonstrates the never ending resourcefulness of Joseph, even when he has nothing left.

Summary:  Joseph Had A Little Overcoat, by Simms Taback, won the Caldecott Medal in 2000.  It is a wonderful, culturally rich story about a man who recycles an overcoat that most people would have thrown away.  Joseph, a Jewish man from Poland, has an overcoat that is filled with patches on the bottom third of the garment.  He decides to cut off the bottom and turn it into a jacket.  After that becomes worn and filled with patches, he turns it into a vest.  The vest then gets turned into a scarf, the scarf into a tie, the tie into a handkerchief, and the handkerchief into a button.  When he loses the button, he has nothing.  But that doesn’t stop Joseph from turning nothing into something.  The illustrations are colorfully filled with details such as photographs, newspapers, drawings, and fabrics.  Each garment has a cut-out that lies over the item as the reader turns the page to reveal the next garment that he has made.  A note from the author is included as well as the lyrics and music from a song that inspired him to write the story.

Qualitative Analysis:  The text to this story is comfortable for the reader as the purpose of the book unfolds and end with a moral.  The organization of the story is sequential with clear signals and transitions as it leads the reader through the story.  This is demonstrated as each new garment is revealed.  The story is told from a third-person perspective.  The text is typed in a bold orange font at the top of each page with a smoky black background.  This smoky background acts as a frame around each two-page spread.  Every time the name Joseph is used, the J uses a red font color.  The text is repetitive in that many of the sentences begin with the words “Joseph” or “So Joseph”.  There are other text features throughout the book in photographs, newspapers, flyers, books, wall hangings, sheet music, and letters written to him, some of which is written in Hebrew.  At the end of the book there is an author’s note as well as sheet music for a song that inspired him to write the book.  The copywrite page states that the artwork was done using watercolor, Gouache, pencil, ink, and collage.  Each two-page spread is packed with so many details that add to the richness of the story.  Although this story is filled with Jewish culture, the reader does not need background, cultural, or prior knowledge to enjoy and comprehend this wonderful story.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Fiction, Picture Book

Age or Interest Level: Ages 3-8, Grades K-3

Reading Level:  Lexile RL: BR , Accelerated Reader RL: 1.7 , FLR: 2.0

Awards:  Caldecott Medal, 2000

Personal thoughts:   This book is one of the best picture books I’ve read!  I loved the story and the moral at the end.  The illustrations were filled with so many things that added to the richness of the Jewish culture depicted in this story.  I can’t wait to share it with my students!

Bibliographic Information:  Taback, S. (1999), Joseph Had A Little Overcoat, New York: Viking

Maisy’s Band: Pull The Tabs And Make Music! by Lucy Cousins

Join Maisy and her friends as they prepare for a concert.  Help each friend play their instrument by pulling tabs in the book.

Summary:  Maisy’s Band, by Lucy Cousins, is a part of the Maisy pop-up and play book series.  The story begins by letting the reader know that Maisy’s band is giving a concert and that they need to practice.  Each of her friends plays a different instrument.  The sound of the drums, double bass, piano, trumpet, and triangle are described on a two-page spread.  Each of Maisy’s friends is practicing their instrument and the reader can pull tabs to make the instrument or character move.  When the tab is pulled with the elephant’s triangle, the paper steel rod makes a sound when it strikes the paper triangle.  After the animals have all practiced their instruments, the concert is about to begin.  The last page folds down to reveal the stage filled with the musicians surrounded by the audience.

Qualitative Analysis:  The text in this book is comfortable for the reader and the main idea is directly stated at the beginning of the reading when the text and illustration shows Maisy and her friends going to practice for a concert they are giving that evening.  The story is told from a third-person perspective and it is well organized with each two-page spread highlighting a new instrument.  The text is in a large black font on a solid colored background making it easy for beginning readers.  Several of the pages have text that rhymes making it enjoyable for the reader to predict words.  The illustrations look to be drawn or painted with black with bold solid colors.  The illustrations are large and the background color extends to the edge of each page.  The language closely adheres to the reader’s linguistic base.  There is no need for background, cultural, or prior knowledge in order for the reader to enjoy and comprehend this book.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Toy Books

Age or Interest Level:  Ages 3-8, Grades PK-3

Series Information:  A Maisy pop-up and play book

Personal thoughts:   I love the bold colors of this book and the interaction by pulling the tabs to make the instruments and characters move.  The drums and the triangle were my favorite.

Bibliographic Information:  Cousins, L. (2012), Maisy’s Band: Pull The Tabs And Make Music!, London: Walker

In The Forest by Maurice Pledger

There are so many plants, animals, textures, and colors to explore on a nature trail through the forest.  This book invites the reader to experience what it might be like on a nature walk.

Summary:  In The Forest is a touch-and-feel adventure book written by Maurice Pledger.  The story begins with an invitation to explore a nature trail.  The reader first discovers a shiny yellow snail along with other animals that are shiny and hidden under a flap, all which happen to be yellow.  This yellow snail is throughout the book and the reader is asked to look for it as he reads along.  The reader can feel the smooth shiny frog, snail, and beetle.  The next page features scaly animals such as a snake and iguana which can again be discovered under a flap.  This pattern continues as it explores shimmery, downy, crackly, velvety, and fuzzy textures.  Each page has rhyming text throughout and focuses on specific colors such as yellow, green, blue, orange, brown, pink, and red.  As each flap is lifted, the reader is asked to count the number of items in that specific color.

Qualitative Analysis:  The rhyming text, by A. J. Wood, in this book is comfortable for the reader to read and is presented in a third-person perspective.  The purpose of the book is directly stated when the text asks the reader to go on a nature trail to explore, feel, see, and count things.  These and other key words such as the words describing textures are in a larger bold font among the rest of the text on the page.  This shows an emphasis of the concepts being explored in this book.  The book is well organized with every two-page spread focusing on a different texture and color.  The text on the pages is written on the left side in a large black font on a white background.  The right side features a flap that when lifted reveals animals and plants.  As mentioned earlier, some of the words within the text are much larger to indicate emphasis of a specific concept.  On each page, there is a smaller black font sentence that asks the reader to either find other things on the page of the same color or to count items on the page.  These sentences all appear under the attached flap on the right side of the two-page spread.  Each flap features an animal with a portion cut out where the reader can feel a piece of fabric or paper with a specific texture.  When the flap is lifted, another animal with that same texture is revealed.  The illustrations feature several different mediums such as fabric, photographs, and drawings.  The language closely adheres to the reader’s linguistic base.  There is no need for background, cultural, or prior knowledge to enjoy and comprehend this book.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Toy Book

Age or Interest Level:  Ages 3-6, Grades PK-1

Reading Level:  FLR: 3.5

Series Information:  Nature Trail Book

Personal thoughts:   Kids of all ages enjoy a book they can physically interact with.  This book includes many different types of fabrics with different textures to touch and feel.  It also has a rhyming text that is enjoyable to read.

Bibliographic Information:  Pledger, M. (1998), In The Forest, San Diego: Silver Dolphin Books

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert

Discover shapes, animals, and colors in this magical book as each page is turned!

Summary:  Color Zoo, by Lois Ehlert, is the first toy book to win a Caldecott Honor Award.  Written in 1989, Color Zoo is also a board book that engages the reader to interact with the book.  As each page is turned, two things are revealed: a shape and an animal.  These items are cut-outs that are layered on top of each other.  As each page is turned, a new shape or animal is seen by the reader.  Each page is a bright vibrant color.  After three shapes and animals are revealed, a review of the shapes is given before another set begins to unfold.  The shapes include the circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, heart, diamond, hexagon, and an octagon.  The animals featured are a tiger, mouse, fox, ox, monkey, deer, lion, goat, and a snake.  The back cover of the book lets the reader know that there are “nine animals, nine shapes, and sixteen shades of color” and that they “change a lion into a goat, an ox into a monkey, and a tiger into a mouse.”  Shapes, animals, and colors can all be explored in this magical book.

Qualitative Analysis:  Except for the words describing the shapes and animals in this book, it is primarily a wordless book.  The size of this board book is seven inches by seven inches, making it perfect for little hands to discover.  The text used appears in a large bold black font in all capital letters in the bottom corner of each page, except for the page that reviews the three shapes just revealed.  The sixteen colors used include black, the primary colors, the secondary colors, and tertiary colors.  As children turn the pages, they can run their finger through each shape, making it a tactile book as well.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Toy Book, Board Book

Age or Interest Level:  Ages 3-6, Grades PK-2

Awards:  Caldecott Honor, 1999

Personal thoughts:   I really enjoyed reviewing this book.  I had seen it in our library but had not picked it up to read it.  This is a multi-concept book that can be used when learning about shapes, animals, or colors.

Bibliographic Information:  Ehlert, L. (1989), Color Zoo, New York: HarperFestival

Tooth Trouble by Abby Klein

When something really big begins to happen in all your friend’s lives, you don’t want to be the only one left out.  That’s what has happened to Freddy Thresher when he’s the only one in his class who hasn’t lost a tooth.

Summary:  Losing a first tooth can be very exciting for a young child.  In Abby Klein’s Ready, Freddy! Tooth Trouble, Freddy Thresher, a self-proclaimed shark expert, is not very excited.  In fact, he’s quite stressed about it.  Everyone in his first grade class has lost their tooth except for him!  Mrs. Wushy, Freddy’s teacher, has a big tooth poster that children can sign their name on after they lose a tooth.  He and his best friend, Robbie, were the last two who hadn’t lost their tooth, until Robbie lost his.  Now Freddy will do just about anything to lose his first tooth so that he can write his name on “The Big Tooth”.  He comes up with a plan, but when that doesn’t work, he resorts to plan B.  One of his plans is to fight Max, the biggest bully in the school, so that when he gets hit, his tooth will be loose.  His mother comforts him after the fight by saying, “Sometimes when we want things really badly, we do silly things.”  After that really bad day, his family goes out for ice cream and an amazing thing happens, but then he has an even bigger problem.  His sister Suzy, who usually annoys Freddy, makes a suggestion that solves his problem.

Qualitative Analysis:  The text of this book is comfortable and easy to follow.  The language relies on literal interpretations of the text.  The genre, realistic fiction, is familiar to the reader and the text follows the rules for that genre.  It is organized in a chronological manner that leads the reader through the story of Freddy trying to lose his tooth.  The story is told in the first-person from Freddy’s point of view.  The text features includes a table of contents at the beginning of the book and chapters beginning with the chapter number, chapter title, and a small drawing of a shark.  Additional text features include a note from the author which explains why Freddy feels he’s a shark expert, Freddy’s Fun Pages (Freddy’s Shark Journal with shark facts), A Very Silly Story (a MadLib type story where you fill in the blanks with descriptive words without knowing what the story is all about beforehand), and directions for making a tooth pillow similar to the one a character named Jessie refers to.  The font is easy to read and includes some italicized words which show emphasis such as the words “Eewww” and “Disgusting!”  When the student writes their name on The Big Tooth, the font spells out the name such as R-O-B-B-I-E.  When any of the characters yells, the font is in all capital letters.  The illustrations, by John McKinley look to be done in graphite.  The expressions on the faces really show the emotions of the characters.  One such facial expression is when Freddy’s mother gives his sister the “Shut-Your-Mouth-Now-Death Stares.”  The characters drawn include several multi-cultural characters.  The back cover of the book includes teasers about the book as well as a challenge to find the word “fin” hidden in every picture.  The language closely adheres to the reader’s linguistic base.  There is no need for background, cultural or prior knowledge in order to enjoy and comprehend this story.

Genre and/or Subject Area: Fiction, Realistic

Age or Interest Level: Grades K-3

Reading Level:  Lexile RL: 560L, Accelerated Reader RL: 3.3

Series Information:  Ready, Freddie

Personal thoughts:   I loved this book!  I thought it was fun to read and know others who read it will enjoy relating to some of Freddy’s feelings.  I really enjoyed the note from the author and the additional text features, especially the challenge to go back and look for the word “fin” hidden in all the pictures, most of which I could find.

Bibliographic Information:  Klein, A. (2004), Tooth Trouble, New York: Scholastic

April Adventure by Ron Roy

Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt?  In order for Brian, Bradley, Lucy, and Nate to claim their treasure, they must first solve a mystery.

Summary:  Ron Roy, author of the A to Z Mysteries series, has created a new mystery series around the calendar months featuring the younger siblings of the A to Z Mystery characters.  In April Adventures, Brian, Bradley, Lucy, and Nate have a sleep-over the weekend of Easter.  They are awakened in the early hours of Saturday morning with a mystery.  Each of them find a plastic Easter egg near their head with a note inside placed there by a shadowy figure Bradley saw walking out of the room.  Each egg has an instruction to follow that leads them on a treasure hunt beginning in the park.  If they can find twelve plastic eggs and four real ones that are painted gold, they will get the treasure that waits for them.  They figure out who hid the eggs, but can’t find the golden eggs.  They come up with all kinds of possibilities as to what happened to the golden eggs, but they can’t claim their treasure until they find them.

Qualitative Analysis:  The text of this book is comfortable and easy to follow.  The main idea is explicitly stated at the beginning of the reading when it is discovered that the characters are going to engage in a treasure hunt.  The genres of this book, realistic and mystery, are familiar to the reader and the text is consistent with the rules of these genres.   It is organized in a chronological order over the span of about 24 hours.  The story is told in a third-person narration.  The text features include a table of contents at the beginning of the book.  Each chapter begins with a chapter number, a chapter title in a large bold text, and a drawing of some Easter eggs with one opened with candy spilling out.  The text throughout is a large font that makes it easy for beginning readers to see well.  The notes that are found in the eggs are written in an all capital letter text so that the reader can clearly see what the note says as well as words when two of the characters yell, “Bees!”  Occasionally, there are italicized words, showing emphasis, such as the words “Do snapping turtles hiss?”  The illustrations by John Steven Gurney look like ink drawings with shadowing.  Some of the illustrations take up the entire page with some flowing onto the next and some are smaller with text above or below the picture.  The language closely adheres to the reader’s linguistic base.  There is no need for background, cultural, or prior knowledge for the reader to comprehend and enjoy this book.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Fiction, Mystery, Realistic

Age or Interest Level: Grades K-3

Reading Level:  Lexile RL: 470L , Accelerated Reader RL: 3.0 , FLR: 2.4

Series Information:  Calendar Mysteries

Personal thoughts:   I liked this book and believe others will too.  Ron Roy is a well-known author in our school library and the younger readers enjoy reading his A to Z Mystery books and well as the Calendar Mysteries.

Bibliographic Information:  Roy, R. (2010), April Adventures, New York: Random House

Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch by Barbara Park

Junie B. Jones is at it again in this story about how she becomes Boss of Lunch.  But can she keep this new position?

Summary:  First grade isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be for Junie B. Jones in Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch by Barbara Park.  For one thing, where are the cookies and milk Mrs. Gladys Gutzman used to bring each day?  Junie is so excited about using her new lunch box and has a hard time paying attention in class.  When it’s lunch time she finds she’s one of two that brought their lunch.  When she realizes that those who bought their lunch got the same cookies they used to get in Kindergarten, she marches into the cafeteria and finds Mrs. Gutzman is still there!  When Junie is asked to help Mrs. Gutzman in the cafeteria, she is so excited!  Her parents remind her, though, that a helper is not a boss.  Of course, in Junie B. fashion, she has a difficulty keeping her honesty about the lunch food to herself and soon realizes that this new position isn’t going to work out…until she gets to help out one more time.

Qualitative Analysis:  The text of this book is comfortable to the reader and the language is explicit and relies on literal interpretations.  The main idea is stated at the beginning of the reading when we learn Junie B. Jones has a hard time following directions.   The text is consistent with the rules of the genre for this book, realistic fiction.  It is organized in chronological order with transitions that lead the reader through the story.  The story is told from the first-person perspective of Junie B. Jones.  The text features include a table of contents with chapter heading that include the chapter number and chapter name in large bold text that is different from the rest of the text.  When Junie writes in her first-grade journal, the font changes to look like a child’s handwriting.  The font is in all capital letters when a fellow student shouts out to the teacher that Junie B. is getting into her lunchbox when she is not supposed to.  Throughout the book, the font changed to italicized words when an emphasis is to be placed on that particular word.  There are ink drawings throughout the book by illustrator Denise Brunkus depicting scenes from the text.  The language closely adheres to the reader’s linguistic base and the register is casual and familiar.  There is no need for background, cultural, or prior knowledge for the reader to understand what is occurring throughout the story.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Realistic Fiction

Age or Interest Level:  Grades K-3

Reading Level:  Lexile RL: 330L , Accelerated Reader RL: 2.8

Series Information:  Junie B. Jones series

Personal thoughts:   Junie B. Jones books have been a favorite of young readers for years.  Students enjoy her antics and spunk and can relate to some of the situations she is put in.

Bibliographic Information:  Park, B. (2002), Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch, New York: Random House

Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One by Judy Blume

Do you have an older sibling who thinks they are greater than everyone else or a sibling who is a down-right pain?  This book is one a lot of people can relate to, but it’s also a good reminder that family needs to stick together.

Summary:  Judy Blume is known for her books that students of all ages can relate to.  Having a brother or a sister can be frustrating at times.  First grader Jake is called “The Pain” by his older sister Abigail. Third grader Abigail is called “The Great One” by Jake.  Soupy Saturdays With The Pain And The Great One is a wonderful beginning chapter book for young readers.  Each short chapter, told in first-person by “The Pain” or “The Great One”, is another story of something that happens on a Saturday.  After we are introduced to each of the characters by their sibling, we learn from “The Great One” that Jake hates getting his haircut my Mr. Soupy and although “The Great One” thinks Jake is a real pain, she makes ear covers out of cardboard so that he will get that haircut.  We learn later from Jake that his sister, “The Great One” is afraid to ride a two-wheeled bike.  Although they squabble like most siblings do, they really love each other deep down.

Qualitative Analysis:  The text of this book is comfortable to the reader.  The main idea of the book is explicitly stated at the beginning through the introductions of each sibling and the meaning is stated.  The language is explicit and relies on the literal interpretations of the text.  The genre, fiction, is familiar and the text is consistent with the rules of this genre.  It is organized with clear signals and transitions to lead the reader through the story of their Saturday happenings.  Each chapter is told in the first person perspective of the sibling pictured above the chapter name.  The text features include a table of contents and chapter titles in a larger bold font that is different from the rest of the text.  The illustrations by James Stevenson are ink drawings with shading of each of the siblings and pictures relating to the storyline of the chapter.  These pictures are found throughout the text and depict actions such as Jake kicking a soccer ball and Abigail riding her skates.  The expressions on their faces depict the emotions of felt by each sibling.  The language closely adheres to the reader’s linguistic base and the register is casual and familiar.  There is no need for background, cultural, or prior knowledge to understand the text.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Fiction

Age or Interest Level:  Grades K-3

Reading Level:  Lexile RL: 420L, Accelerated Reader RL: 2.8

Series Information: Judy Blume has written additional books about the Pain & the Great One

Personal thoughts:   I enjoyed this book and feel that anyone who has a sibling will be able to relate to the squabbles and thoughts felt.  In the end, siblings need to stick together and help each other out.

Bibliographic Information:  Blume, J. (2007), Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One,  New York: Yearling

Divide and Ride by Stuart J. Murphy

Children will love learning the concept of division while going to the carnival in this MathStart book.

Summary:  This MathStart series book, Divide and Ride, by Stuart J. Murphy follows eleven children through the carnival rides.  As they go through their day, they realize that not everyone can ride together and that they must divide up.  Unfortunately, one of the rides require two riders each, leaving one student without someone to ride with.  Thankfully, they are able to find an extra rider so that all can ride the attraction.  Another ride requires three riders each while yet another requires four riders each.  They finally find a ride that they can all ride on, but then they need extra riders to fill the seats.  Each scenario includes a visual chart showing how the number is divided while filling each seat and how there are left over friends.  Illustrator George Ulrich has included whimsical characters throughout the book enjoying a day filled with fun at a theme park.

Qualitative Analysis:  Divide and Ride is a wonderful nonfiction text for students learning the concept of division.  If students can see real-life math with something they can relate to, the students will understand the concept much deeper.  In this case, most students can relate to going to a theme park where you have to ride with partners or small groups.  This nonfiction text is told through a story, which will also help the reader understand the concept of division.  Most of the pages are numbered in the lower outside corner.  The text is a large black font on a white/light background, making it easy to read.  Some of the text follows the path of the ride, such as the climb up and down the rollercoaster, the Ferris wheel, and the river ride.  Illustrator George Ulrich included several children of ethnic diversity, all of whom are best friends.  Each two-page spread looks to be drawn with black ink and painted in with water colors.  The expressions of the children’s faces are very expressive as they experience the disappointment of not having enough friends to ride together and the joy they experience when they find a friendly stranger to ride with.  Addition and division math sentences are included with each math concept and a visual chart with stars (representing the children) in rows (representing the seats).  The back of the book includes two pages filled with ideas for adults and kids to explore the concept further as well as books for further reading.

Genre and/or Subject Area:  Nonfiction

Age or Interest Level:  6-8 years, Grades K-3

Reading Level:  Accelerated Reader RL:  2.5, FLR: 2.0

Series Information:  Math Start

Personal thoughts:   This book is a great book to use when introducing the concept of division.  When children see math being used in real-life situations that they can relate to, the concept will be understood on a deeper level.

Bibliographic Information:  Murphy, S. J. (1997), Divide and Ride, New York: Harper Collins