Friday, March 30, 2012

Fast Food

Fast Food Written and Illustrated b Saxton Freymann

This is a cool book. Freymann has created the illustrations from fruits and vegetables.  The story is all about how people travel and my kids at home love it.  I just found it on the shelf again and my kids were so thrilled. It is definitely for younger elementary school kids, I think that the 4th and 5th graders like it but they are not as into it as the younger guys.  What is fascinating about this book is the way the author was able to make the food look like people and vehicles.  They are so life like!!

I think I purchased this book from Scholastic.
ISBN: 0-439-11019-X

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Spoon and Chopsticks

Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Scott Magoon

Spoon

Spoon is having a hard time because he wants to be like everyone else. He likes how his friends can do things that he cannot and wishes that he is special like that too. His mom shares with him all the things that he can do that his friends knife, fork and chopsticks cannot do.  He goes to bed feeling better about himself and spoons with his parents. ISBN: 978-142310685-2

Chopsticks

Chopsticks are a pair, they are never apart.  They love to do things together and try new tricks.  One day one of them breaks their leg and must rest and take it easy.  So chopstick is left to find things he can do without his partner.  He is stumped but eventually is able to do some things alone.  When they are reunited they find that they are able to work alone but are best a team. ISBN: 978-142310796-5


I love love these books! My kids want me to read them over and over and we laugh and laugh at the pictures and the story.  They have great illustrations, making things in your house come alive, and so many funny plays on words.  I think that they are a fantastic read aloud and a fun set to add to any collection.   I am so hoping that they are going to write more about knife and fork too! I purchased both books from amazon.com

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Cinder

Cinder By: Marissa Meyer

Cinder does not like who she is, a cyborg who lives with her stepmother in New Beijing.  At least she knows one thing for sure, she is a terrific mechanic who has a lot to offer when it comes to fixing things.  When Prince Kai comes to her himself to ask her to fix his android, she is taken aback by the fact that he is coming to her.  Then her stepsister falls ill with the fatal disease that has rocked the world and things get worse for Cinder. Her stepmother gives her to the people who are testing vaccines  and she knows for sure she will die.  But she finds out there is more to her than she thinks, and is suddenly in the mix of helping to save the city from the Lunar queen who is out to destroy the world.

This was a great book, I couldn't put it down and finished it all in one day.  I loved the characters and the storyline immensely!  I thought it was a really fantastic twist on the Cinderella story as a cool science fiction piece. I do not really like science fiction but this book was an exception. The story will continue too,  in Scarlet,  Cress, and Winter. We have to wait until next year to continue the story though that is the only problem. Definitely a fantastic read for middle school readers and up!!  Loved it!

I purchased this from the Scholastic Book Orders.
ISBN: 978-0-312-64189-4

John Himmelman

This is a post about three of the funniest books I have purchased for my kids in a long time.  These books are written and illustrated by John Himmelman.   These books are about the animals on the farm that come to the rescue of the Greenstalk family and help save the day.  The illustrations are hilarious and so is the plot of each one. I highly recommend these books to anyone with kids!  They are so funny, my boys have had us read them every night for about two weeks and they never get old!!

Chickens to the Rescue The Greenstalk family is having trouble. Things just are not going their way, but luckily they have the chickens that come to the rescue and save the day!

Pigs to the Rescue The Greenstalk family loved having the chickens help but the pigs are a different story. When the pigs help things do not always go the best way!

Cow to the Rescue The Greenstalk family needs help at the county fair and the cows are there for them. They even get the family there!!

My mom purchased these as a gift for my kiddos from amazon.com


ISBN: 978-0-8050-7951-7 : 978-0-8050-8683-6 : 978-0-8050-9249-3

Winterdance

Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod By: Gary Paulsen

This is the story of Gary Paulsen ans his dreams to travel the Iditarod.  The book describes Paulsen's ideas and dreams of running his dogs.  It tells of how he was able to prepare himself and the sacrifices his family makes to make sure that he was able to find his dream and was able to travel the Iditarod two times.

This book was fascinating. I love Paulsen's literature for young people and while this was written for adults it was no exception.  I thought it was fascinating as well. The way the story is told you really feel like you are traveling with him and feel so connected to the story. I believe his wife to be amazing to be willing to travel and live the way she did not knowing at some points if he was going to be coming home.  Great read.

I borrowed this from the public library.
ISBN: 0-15-126227-6

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Extra Yarn

Extra Yarn By: Mac Barnett Illustrated By Jon Klassen

This book is about a young girl named Annabelle who finds a box with knitting needles in it and some yarn. So she decided to make a sweater, realizing she has more yarn she makes her dog, Mars, a sweater.  Then she still has more and keeps making sweaters. She makes them for everyone in her town and every animal, and thing, and building.  One day an archduke comes to her and says he will give her one million dollars for her box of yarn and she says no. This angers the archduke so he has his men steal the box. But when he gets the box he finds that it is empty and he trows it into the ocean.  Where it magically sails back to Annabelle who continues to knit with her extra yarn.

I loved this book.  It had the most beautiful illustrations in it.  The idea of knitting sweaters was so cute and the fact that the yarn is the only thing with color in it make this book great. I also liked how the greedy archduke was unable to get what he wanted.  My students at school really liked this book so it is a great read aloud.

I borrowed this from a friend.
ISBN: 978-0-06-195338-5

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Great Fuzz Frenzy

The Great Fuzz Frenzy By: Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel


This is a book about if you want something so bad it can tear your life apart!  A dog drops a tennis ball into a prairie dog hole, at first the dogs are very scared of the thing, but then they find that they cannot live without the fuzz. It begins to tear their community apart as they all fight for the fuzz they love.  Until one brave and daring dog comes up with a plan to rid of the fuzz forever!!

This book is one of my favorites! It is so much fun to read aloud and has a great message for kids. My children at home LOVE it, and I think just about any kid that hears it loves it too. I read it to my 4th and 5th graders and they thought it was great, and my son's Kindergarten teacher read it and they loved it just as much. Great addition to any read aloud collection!!

I borrowed this from the school library
ISBN: 978-0152046262

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Cinderlily

Cinderlily: A Floral Fairytale By: David Ellwant and Christine Tagg

This is one of the most beautiful stories of Cinderella, told using flowers. It is laid out as a play given by the publisher.  It uses flowers as the main characters in the story and they are so pretty and it is amazing how they are used to look like people.  The story is also told in rhyme and that is another way that this story is fantastic.  My class loved this book when I read it aloud to them, they asked me to slow down so they could look at the pictures longer.  It is a great addition to any Cinderella story collection.


I borrowed this from the school library.
ISBN: 0-7636-2328-8