Shibumi and the Kitemaker

As you can see from the cover, the illustrations in this book are amazing. I choose this book to read based on the cover illustrations. Mercer Mayer has beautiful illustrations and wonderful books such as The Rocking Horse Angel and East of the Sun and West of the Moon. This particular book is about a young princess that lives behind the walls of a beautiful garden in the palace. One day she peeks over to the town below. Much to her despair, the town is not as beautiful as she had imagined it. She sets out to convince her mother and father that things need to change. With the help of a kite maker dreams can come true.

I love the illustrations and the inspirational words that Mercer Mayer has given the reader. I really enjoyed reading this tale and I definitely would use this in my classroom. I also want to check out more books and illustrations by Mercer Mayer.

Get Out of Bed!

The main reason I read this book is because it is written by Robert Munsch. I absolutely love Munsch books. They are really creative and hilarious. I also love the pictures. Get Out Of Bed was a little bit of a disappointment. I did not really like this book because it didn't have a twist or different sort of ending much like the other Munsch book that I enjoy.

Get Out Of Bed! is all about a girl that won't get out of bed. Her brother, mother, father, teacher, and principal all try to wake her up but she stayed out too late the night before. She misses breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even goes to school in her bed.

As I said before, I love Robert Munsch books and I know I will have a large collection in my classroom. I enjoy these books and have read many with young children and I know they will enjoy them.

Daddy's Wedding

Daddy's Wedding is a poor attempt at explaining to children about gay couples. Nick is a 10 year old boy that lives with his mother and stepfather. He gets to be the best man in his father's wedding with another man.

The reason that I didn't like this book is because everything in this book was so happy and nothing was complicated. I'm not saying that it should be complicated, but Nick doesn't even ask any questions about his father and his roommate. They just all of a sudden show up and tell Nick that they are getting married and they want Nick in the wedding. I would expect Nick to ask a few questions about their marriage together and point out the fact that they are two men.

I would like there to be questions raised in this book, because I know a child in this real situation would want some questions answered. I believe that if this book answered a few of those questions then it would be more realistic for the reader and they could relate to it more. I would not use this book in my classroom.

Meet Tricky Coyote!

This selection of stories was originally told by Native Americans. Coyote shows us the values of being different, the advantages of being smart, and the dangers of being too proud. These Native American tales give us a familiar and interesting twist to the older American tales that we all know very well.

I would use this book in my classroom because it is a pretty easy read and the tales are not too long. I think that there is a clear moral at the end of each tale that the kids can relate to. I also like these tales because they are almost like our all too familiar American tales that we tell each other. I believe that the kids will be able to make distinctions between the two tales and maybe come up with some on there own!

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

I really enjoyed this book because it was very intense and it kept me reading to see what would happen next. Sookan is the main character along with mother, Inchun, grandfather, Kisa, and Aunt Tiger. She tries to escape the Russians in Northern Korea and make it to freedom below the 38th parallel with her mother and Inchun. The family is separated half way to the south. They are helpless and alone until the kindness of an elderly man helps them make it to the south.

I liked this book because the author used a lot of detail when she wrote. I like how she explains the way things feel, taste, and what she sees. I am glad that the family ends up together in the end. The story is about hope and love that kept the families going through the hardest of times.

I would love to have this book in my classroom. I liked reading So Far From the Bamboo Grove and this book one after the other because it gave me great insight into the two different lives of a Korean child and a Japanese child. I would definitely have my students read both novels and talk about the differences and similarities that the two girls had in common.

So Far From the Bamboo Grove

So Far From The Bamboo Grove is a very powerful and amazing story of Yoko, a 12 year old Japanese girl in the middle of World War II. Her story is about the journey of her, her mother, and her oldest sister, Ko trying to make it to safety and not get captured by the Koreans. There were many points in this story that were so sad and depressing but it made me realize that these things actually did happen.

I think the main point of this story is that the Kawashima family is remarkably strong and they love each other very much. Mother just wants to get her girls to safety and try and find her son. I believe that she feels a sense of safety when they travel back to their homeland, Japan. She dies at the train station but I think she felt a little sense of piece knowing that her girls were safe and in school. Their family stays together despite the effects of war. The girls continue to show their mother great respect even while they are refugees. This shows that respect is a very important aspect to keeping a family together.

Another overlaying theme in the story is the relationship between the two sisters Yoko and Ko. Throughout their journey, Ko must take control and lead the family to safety. Right before their brother left, he told Ko to take care of the family. She takes the lead as Yoko's mother after mother dies at the train station. She keeps Yoko in school and does odd jobs in order to raise money.

One of the most interesting facts of the story is that Ko and Yoko had to dress like the enemy soldiers. They wore their uniforms and also shaved their heads to look like boys. I thought that this was very smart of them because it kept them alive. They were encountered by many men that wanted to rape them or harm them, but because they looked like boys, they were left alone. Also, the uniforms kept them from being killed because they didn't look like Japanese.

I really enjoyed this book and I know I will use it in my classroom if I teach older grades. I liked the story line and the devastation that the family went through is very relevant during a time like this. Our country is at war and the effects that the war has on others is a very important topic to discuss. I cannot wait to read Year of Impossible Goodbyes because the story perspective is from the opposite side of the war.

Fudge

I love dog books. When I was younger, all I ever read, drew, and dreamed about were dogs. I finally got a dog when I was 6 years old. I named him Buster and we were best friends. I really like this children's novel because it is about a young boy that loves his dog Fudge and in the end he gets to keep him too just like when I finally got a dog. I also love to visit the humane societies here and play with the dogs and cats.

This story is sweet and the cover of the book draws people in. Everyone loves puppies and loves to read about them. This would be a great book to put in my classroom because the chapters aren't too long and the print is not too big. The age range of this book would be about 5th to 6th graders.

My favorite part about this book is the end. Chad gets to keep Fudge and Leslie gets to keep bear despite the fact that her sister is allergic to animals. She ends up taking allergy medicine so that they can keep the puppy. I love happy ending books. Our female dog never got to have puppies so I enjoy reading with about them!