Blog Reflection

I think that by doing these Blog entires, I have really learned a lot about the different genres of children's literature. Even though I had read many different children's books I never realized how many different genres there were and how each one fit specifally into a certain genre. By doing these entries, I was allowed to really understand the specific aspects of each genre and apply them to the books I chose.

For most of the books I wrote about, I used them because I looked at the author's suggestions at the end of each chapter. I figured if they were suggestings those books I would be certain to get a book that fits exaclty with the genre that the chapter was about. This turned out to be a great source to find books I needed; I would always take it with me when I went to the library to search for books.

I feel that I now have read so many different books that deal with children's literacy and I will be able to be a much better teacher because of it. Before doing this assignment, my knowledge of children's literature and authors were very limited. Now that I have expanded my knowledge, I will be able to provide my students with a variety of different children's literature, genres and authors for them to read and enjoy.

I really enjoyed doing this assignment because I love children's literature and now I have much more to love! I have a new collection of books that I never have had before and I can't wait to share them with my students some day. I know that from now on I will continue to search for new and different children's books and authors so I can continue to grow my library of children's books for my students!

The Night Before Christmas - Engineered Book

For my engineered book I chose a pop-up version of the classic, A Night Before Christmas written by Clement C. Moore in 1822. This book is about what happens the night before Christmas and how Santa Clause goes to each house and delivers his presents. While the house is very quiet and everyone is asleep, the Father hears Santa and his Reindeer landing on top of their roof. He then hears Santa coming down the chimney and he goes watch him to his work. He describes how Santa looks and that he gets right to his work. When he finished leaving the presents he gives a nod and up the chimney he rose. As Santa gets in his sleigh to go to the next house, the father hears him exclaim, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good night!"

This classic Christmas favorite is a great poem by itself but creation of a pop-up book version makes it really come to life. The sleigh, Santa, Papa, Mama and the children dreaming of sugar plums all pop out and really engage the reader in the story.

The illustrations were done by Tom Patrick and he did a beautiful job. There is so much detail that went in to his work and it really looks exaclty how you would imagein each scene in the story. There are seven different pages that he created and there are also additional activites for the reader to do. You can twirl the sugar plums dancing in the children's head, you can move the sled around and when you close the book Santa magically goes up the chimney. Everything about the creation of this engineered book adds to the already favorite and memorable poem written by Clemet C. Moore.

Florence Nightingale - Biography

This book is a biography of Florence Nightingale, who is the founder of modern nursing. Florence helped start a nursing school in London so that nurses could have speical training to learn how to take care of patients. Florence made nursing a respected profession.

Florence believed that God wanted her to live a life of service. She liked to take care of people who were sick and realized that this was to be her service to God. During the Crimean War, in 1854, Florence traveled with 38 other nurses to take care of the wounded British soldiers. Florence did more than just treat the soldier's wounds, she helped the soldiers write letters and send money home. Florence was also known for walking the hospitals hallways with a lamp each night and offereing care to anyone who needed it. She was given the nick name "Lady with a Lamp" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in one of his poems. Because of her work during the Crimean War, Florence and the other nurses won the respect of the Britih soldiers during the war.

Another important concern to Florence was that hospitals were not sanitary. They were dirty, and full of germs. More soldiers died from infections due to germs than because of their battle wounds. Florence set out to make hospitals sanitary and British army hospitals became the more sanitary hospitals of any country in Europe. As a result of her schools to train nurses, her making hospitals sanitary, and helping start the British Red Cross, Florence Nightingale improved health care around the world.

I think this book is a great biography book because it is a photo-illustrated biography combining illustrations and actual photos of Florence Nightingale. Each written page has a corresponding photo page. I think this biography has a high interest level for children because of the photos incorporated in the book and how they are presented. Each written page is a different aspect of Florence's life and achivements. This set up, rather than the typical chapter book keeps the book interesting for the young readers which will make them retain the information better.

Davis, Lucile. Florence Nightingale: A Photo-Illustrated Biography. Mankato, Minnesota: Bridgestone Books, 1999

Meet Kristin - Historical Fiction

The book I chose for my Historical Fiction story is from the American Girl Collection, Meet Kristen: An American Girl. This book was written by Janet Shaw and illustrated by Renee Graef. This is the first book in a series of books about a Swedish family who comes to America in 1854. The story begins on the long, dangerous boat ride to America. The journey continues from New York to the Minnesota frontier where they will meet up with Kristen's relatives from Sweden. But first, Kristen gets lost in New York City and it becomes so crowded and she begins to feel dizzy and sick from the boat. The family finally gets tickets on a train for Chicago. Kristen meets up with her best friend from the boat Marta and their families continue the journey together on the Missippi riverboat. While on the boat, Marta dies from Cholera. Kristen feels that American will never feel like home until they finally reach Minnesota. Here, her relatives make Kristen's family feel very welcomed and loved. This story shows the hardships that immigrants endured to make a better life for their families in America.

This is a great example of Historical Fiction because it takes place in an historical setting that actually occured even though the characters and events from the book are fictional. By having this type of book, children are able to get a sense of what life back in those days were like and they are allowed to experience those same emotions through the characters in these historical fiction books. This book was for children in the third or fourth grade because it is in the form of a chapter book and ther are only a few illustrations every few pages. However, it is easy enough for a child of this age to read to themselves without too much assistance. At the very end of the book there are historical facts about the time period that this story takes place in and how real immigrants had to deal with similar hardships that Kristen and her family experienced on their journey to America.

Shaw, Janet. Meet Kristen: An American Girl. Middleton, Wisconsin: Pleasant Company Publications, 1986

Cinderella - Classic Folktale and Two Multicultural/International Variations of it

For my Classic Folk Tals associated with two Multicultural/International variation of it, I chose the story of Cinderella. The original Cinderlla story is about a young girl who's father re-marry's a lady who become a mean step-mother to his daughter. This woman always has at least one child who is equally mean to the daughter. They make her do impossible chores and dress in rags. They despise her and want to make her life as difficult and miserable as possible. After years of this horrible life, the young girl is greeted by something magical that helps her. There is always some kind of large gathering where there will a man of royalty who falls in love with the girl. The girl then loses her something and the man picks it up, demanding to find this girl because he wants to marry her. After searching, the man finally finds the girl and gives back the object she had lost. They get married and live happily ever after.

This is the basic plot that occured in every version of Cinderella that I read. The first book I read was the Walt Disney version of Cinderella. It was retold by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Mary Blair. This was the classic Cinderella story that most children know and love. It is exaclty how the Walt Disney portrays the Cinderella story. The second verious I read was a spanish version titled, Cenicienta. It was written by Loek Koopmans. This story followed the same plot as the Disney version with just a few minor changes (for example in the end, Cinderella and the prince ride into the sky on a horse) The final version of Cinderlla that I read was a Korean version titled, The Korean Cinderlla written by Shirley Climo and illustrated by Ruth Heller. In this story, the same basic plot still applied but it incorporated Korean traditions. The girl was not named Cinderella, she was named Pear Blossum. The step mother, Omoni only had one daughter named Peony. They made Pear Blossum's life miserable but she was kind to them throughout the whole story. Instead of having one fairy godmother to help her, Pear Blossom had various animls come help her with her chores. First it was a frog, the birds then an ox. Towards the end, there was a festival in town, not a ball, and Pear Blossum was not allowed to go until she finished an impossible chose that Omoni gave her. After the magical Ox helped her, Pear Blossum went to the festival and saw the young, handsom nobleman. She accidentally dropped her sandle in the stream and ran off thinking she had caused a disturbance. The nobleman ordered his bearers to fish out her sandle from the stream and take him back to the village so he could find her. Once Omoni and Peony got home, they were yelling at Pear Blossum for stealing food that the magical Ox had given her. Right then the nobleman showed up at her house and her stepmother and stepsister were sure that he was there to arrest her for stealing. To their surprise he pulled out Pear Blossum's other sandle and asked her to marry him. Of course, the stepmother tried to say that her daughter was much better for the nobleman but he did not want to hear it. Pear Blossum and the nobleman lived happily ever after.

Even though there are many different versions of the story, Cinderall they all essentially have the same basic plot of a young girl who is treated horribly but ends up prevailing in the end and marrying or getting together with the prince or desired man.

Climo, Shirley. The Korean Cinderella. China: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993

Koopmans, Loek. Cenicienta. New York: North-South Books Inc., 2002

Rylant, Cynthia. Cinderella. New York: Disney Press, 2007

Seven Blind Mice - Controversial

I chose the book, Seven Blind Mice, written by Ed Young as my controversial book. In this book, there are seven mice who see a new, foreign object by their pond. None of the mice can tell what the object is and each day of the week a differet mouse goes to try and figure out what the object is. Each time a different mouse went to look at the object, they interperated it differently so no one could figure out what the object was. We eventually find out the object is an Elephant but here is what the mice saw...On Monday, the red mouse thought the foot was a pillar, on Tuesday the green mouse thought the trunk was a snake, on Wednesay the yellow mouse thought the tooth was a fany or spear, on Thursday the purple mouse thought the head was a great cliff, on Friday the orange mouse thought the ear was a fan, on Saturday the blue mouse thought the tail was a rope and finally on Sunday the white mouse went to the pond to look at the object. The white mouse put all the clues together and discovered that the unknown object was an elephant. The elephant was sturdy as a piller, supple as a snake, wide as a clif, sharp as a spear, breezy as a fan and stingy as a rope. The end of the books has a quote saying, "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdome comes from seeing the whole"

The reason that this book was controversial was because people believed that by having the white mouse be the one who finally figured out what the object was, it was implying that whites are superior to everyone else. People said it was promoting white supremcy becaues the white mouse was the smartest and the only one able to put all the puzzle piece together to figure out that the object was an elephant. I also think the book promoted dangeroug objects because each object the mice thought they saw were dangerous, disturbing things such as a rope, a spear, a cliff, a fang etc...

This book received a Caldecott Honor Book Award

Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1992

A Child's First Book of Poems - Large Anthology of Collected Poems

I chose the collection of poems titled, A Child's First Book of Poems, for my one large anthology of collected poems. In this collection there are short, children's poems written by various authors. The entire book was illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres. The marjority of her illustrations incorporate mice but the illustrations still relate the orignal poems. The authors featured in this collection are, Aileen Fisher, Vachel Lindsay, Anita E. Posey, Dixis Wilson, Alison Winn, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, Emily Dickinson, Florence Page Jaques, A.A. Milne, Evaleen Stein, Elanor Farjeon, Marjorie Seymour Watts, Dorothy Aldis, Robert Louis Stevenson, Frank Dempster Sherman, Christina Rossetti, Rene Cloke, Oliver Herford, John Ciardi, Rose Fyleman, Maud Burnham, Herbert Asquith and Walter de la Mare. There are also many other poems incorporated from anonymous authors.

I think this is a great example of a large antholog of collected poems for children. All of the poems incorporated in this collection are appropriate for young children and are written on a leve that they can listen to and comprehend. I believe that children will enjoy this collection and it will inspire them to want to read more poetry when they get older.

There were no awards given to this book.

pictures by: Szekeres, Cyndy. A Child's First Book of Poems. New York: A Golden Book. Racine, Wisconsin: Western Publishing Company, Inc, 1981

A Light in the Attic - One-Author Collection of Poems

The one-author collection of poems book I decided to use was Shel Silversteins, A Light in the Attic. Shel Silversteins was the author and illustrator of this collection of poems. His collection of poems are very random and quirky. A few of my favorite poems in this collection are, "How not to have to dry the dishes", "Fancy Dive" and "Crowded Tub". In How not to have to dry the dishes, Silverstein says that if you do not want to do this boring chore and you drop one on the floor, maybe you won't have to dry the dishes anymore. This is saying that if you drop dishes on the floor, your mother won't want you potentially dropping anymore so she won't make you dry the dishes anymore! The next favorite of mine if Fancy Dive. In this poem, a lady does all of these incredible tricks, flips and turns to discover that there is no water in the pool she is about to fall in to! The third favorite of mine is Crowded Tub. In this poem, there are so many people in the tub that no one knows who is washing who. I like the quote, "I washed a behind I'm sure wasn't mine!" All of the poems in Shel Silverstein's collection are very random and most of them are very funny. The illustrations that accompany each poem fit the text perfectly as well.

I think this is a great representation of a one-author collection of poems. Most of these poems are easy to read and many second or third grade students could read this book to themselves. It is also very fun to have the teacher read to the class however. This gets the student's interested and excited about reading poems, espeically ones that will make them laugh! I think there is at least one poem incorporated in this collection for every kind of person.

This book did cause quite a bit of controversary however. Many people thought the poem "How not to have to dry the dishes" was promoting messiness and disobediance and was banned from a school in Florida. This decision was later overturned.

This collection of poems has received numerous awards and recognitions. These include: American Association: Best Graphic Illustrations, Winner of the 1983-1984 Allen White Award, Winnter of the 1983 Garden State Children's Book Award, 1984 Garden State Children's book Award Center for Children's Books, Recognition of Merit award, ALA Notable Children's Book, School Library Journal Best Book, Library of Congress Children's Book and Buckeye Children's Book award.

Silverstein, Shel. A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1981

Snowflake Sisters - One-Poem Book

The book, Snowflase Sisters, is a one-poem book. This book is about two snowflakes twin sisters, Crystal and Ivory. It is winter time and Cystal and Ivory are having fun being snowflaes spinning about the wind. One night a large wind swept the two sisters off with billions of other snowflakes down the countryside. In the middle of this, they heard a tin bell jingling and out of nowhere comes Santa with his eight tiny Reindeer. Crystal and Ivory decide to tag along on Santa's sliegh. They watched him all night long as he put presents under the tree and ate his cookies and milk. Six days later, the cold winds picked up again and snow hurried down. Crystal and Ivory ended up hovering over a town that was so big it made the rest of the world seem small. They were in New York City just in time for New Year's Eve. They went to Time's Square and saw all of the people gathered around. The next morning, were worried they were going to be swept into a cab or stepped on by someone's shoe. They found a snowman in Central Park and decided to stay on his shoulder the rest of the winter. They played and had a great time with their new snowman friend. When Spring began to come, Cyrstal, Ivory and the Snowman began to melt and everyone became very sad. But before they were gone Winter called out, "I'll bring you back again next year!"

I think this book is a great example of a one-poem book. The text ryhmed and but had a more mature feeling to it. I really liked how the snowflakes were incorporated with Christmas and New Years because those are two of the main events that occur during winter. I also really liked how the book ended saying that Winter will bring the snowflakes back next year. I think this made the story end on a happy note instead of having the reader be sad that the snow was melting.

J. Patrick Lewis did not receive any awards for this book but many of his other works having been given awards and recognition.

Lewis, Patrick J. Snowflake Sisters. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2003.

Fancy Nancy - Children's Choice List

The Children's Choice List book, Fancy Nancy, was written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. This book is about a young girl who loves being fancy. She loves replaces ordinary words with fancy words and dressing as fancy as she can. Nancy is not like the rest of her family, who doesn't even put sprinkles on their ice cream! Fancy things that Nancy does are, writing with a plume (a fancy way of saying feather), learning french (because everything the French say sounds fancy), wears lace-trimmed socks to place soccer, puts little frilly toothpicks in sandwiches and wears her tiara all the time. Also, Nancy's favorite color is fuchsia because thats a fancy way of saying purple. One day, Nancy decides that she wants to teach the rest of her family how to be fancy. She posts an ad for classes on the refridgerator. "Learn to be fancy with lessons from Nancy. Start today! Easy! Fun! Free!" Her family attends her lessons and once they become fancy too, they decide to go out to eat at The King's Crown. They get into their "limousine" and their dad acts as their chauffeur (a fancy word for driver). After an evening of dining on pizza, holding their pinky's up and calling each other darling, it is time for dessert. Nancy and her family order parfaits (a fancy word for ice cream). Nancy goes to get the tray of parfaits when she trips and slips and spills everything on the floor. Embarassed and not feeling fancy anymore Nancy wants to go home. After Nancy has cleaned up and is in her dressing gown (a fancy word for bathrobe) she feels much better and is finally ready for those parfaits. Nancy thanks her parents for being fancy with her tonight. When they tuck her in bed, her parents tell her they love her and Nancy replies, "I love you" because there is no better or fancier way of saying that.

I think this is a great book because it is very entertaining and the illustrations are great and add such meaning to the story. This book also has many new vocabulary words children probably have never heard of before. They use the words plume, fuchsia, accessories, posh, limousine, chauffeur, parfaits and Merci. All of these new words can help a child expand their vocabulary and learn about the French language. Some of the French words incorporated are Merci for thank you and parfait for ice cream.

This book spent nearly 100 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, has been on Publisher's Weekly bestsellers list for picture books, was a Children's Book-of-the-Month Club selection and a Junior Library Guide selection. It also won a "Border's 2006 Original Voices" award and has been translated into 17 different languages.

The Cow who Clucked - Children's Choice

This Children's Choice List book, The Cow who Clucked, was written by Denise Fleming. In the story, a cow wakes up one morning to find that she had lost her moo and she is clucking instead. She goes to all the animals around the barn to see if they have her moo. She encounters a dog, a bee, a cat, a fish, a duck a sheep, a mouse, a snake, a squirrel, and an owl. After a log day of searching for her moo, the cow deceides to head back to the barn. Just then, cow hears the hen mooing. She cries, "Hen! It is you who has my Moo!" After this, the hen got her cluck back and cow got her moo back!

I thought this book was done very well. The illustrations are great and they are full bleeds. This book is not only entertaing to read, but it will help teach young children about the different barn animal sounds. I think this book would fall under the category of picutre concept books. I believe this because this book teaches about the concept of animal sounds. The text is very repetitive and the only thing that changes from page to page is what animal Cow is talking to. This kind of repitition will allow the child to pick up on the story and is much easier for them to listen and comprehend.

This book has received the Kirkus Reviews Best Book for 2006, the CCBC Choices 2007, the Bank Street Best Books 2007, the Chicago Library Best of the Best 2007 and the CCBC Choices 2008.

Fleming, Denise. The Cow who Clucked. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. 2006.

What do Teachers do after you Leave School - Children's Choice List

This Children's Choice List book, What do Teachers do After you Leave School, was written by Anne Bowen and illustrated by Barry Gott. The story is about what teachers do once the student's go home. The teachers basically act like a bunch of unruly kids doing everything the student's would love to do at school if the teachers would let them. The teachers change into jeans, go on the slides, rollerskate down the hallway, play basketball in the gym, eat pizza and candy, have a huge food fight, build towers and dance and make slimey goop soup in their secret lab. When the Principal comes to find the teachers, she says it looks like fun and joins in until the next morning. At quarter past six, all the teachers frantically begin cleaning the school before the students come back. When the school bell finally rings, all the teachers are standing by their classroom doors greating the children. They tell them, "the school felt so empty. It's good to see you! We missed you last night...there was nothing to do!"

The illustrations in this book are what make it so amazing. They are computer generated full bleads and each illustration adds more meaning to the story. At the very end, when the teachers say that there was nothing to do, in the illustrations there is a little girl looking up at the ceiling where some of the slime goop is dripping. There is also another little boy in the background looking at a puppy in the water fountain! Overall I thought this was a great book and it would be perfect to read to your students as a humorous book about what teachers really do because student's really do believe that their teachers live at school. They don't think that teachers go home after school to their own families, they just think they are always there because they're there when the students get there and stay once the students leave.

This book is a favorite among many teachers, students and parents. In sales, it ranked in the top 100 Bestsellers, the top 100 Young Adult Fiction Bestsellers and the top 100 Humorous Stories Bestsellers

Bowen, Anne. What DO Teachers do after YOU Leave School? Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc. 2006.

Buddha: The Father of Buddhism - Informational Book

The book, Buddha: The Father of Buddhism, was written by Anna Carew-Miller and Paolo d' Altan. This book is the story of Buddha's life and how he became to be the Father of Buddhism. The story begins before Buddha was even born, about 2,500 years ago in northest India. Buddha's father was the maharajah or chieftain of the Sakyu tribe. Buddha's mother was the maharajanee and it is said that one night she dreamed a white elephant flew down from the moonlit sky to her bed and not long after, she found out she was pregnant. Buddha was named Siddhartha when he was born and his father was told that he was goign to be a great saint. Throughout Buddha's childhood he became very smart and strong but he was sheletered from anything that was evil. He lived within the compound of his parent's palace and was never aloud out to see the rest of the world. One day he asked a gardener why he was picking the flowers. The gardener replied, because the Maharajah does not like when the flowers die. Buddha had never heard the term "died" before and wanted to know what it meant. After this, Buddha went to his father and told him he wanted to leave their palace and see other parts of the world. His father was alamred by this and ordered all the old, sick and poor people to leave the area before Buddha was aloud to travel. Just as his trip was about to be over and he was to return to the palace, Buddha saw two old, sick men in an alley. When he asked why those men looked as they did, he was told that they were just old. Buddha did not know what the word old meant so he had to ask. Buddha did not like hearing about flowers dying or people getting old. He was becoming deeply disturbed. Buddha decided to leave the palace because it was just an artificial world and he knew if he did not leave he would just feel trapped and depressed. Buddha wanted to leave because he wanted to find a way to rid the world of all pain. After Buddha left the palace, he saw five naked men who were monks sitting on the river bank. He went to sit with them and for more than six years he sat with them without uttering a word. One day, Budda left the men to eat with a woman who brought him rice. Thinking that he had betrayed the monks, they angrily turned their backs on him and walked away. On this day, all of Buddha's thoughts, desires and suffereing vanished and with this discovery, he became Buddha, the enlightened one. After this, Buddha wanted to show people another way to live other than having a caste system and untouchables. He believed all people were equal and that there should be no caste system and no division in society. He obtained many followers to help everyone find enlightenment. Buddha showed people other ways or looking at certain situations which is what made him so enlightened. Thousands of people respected Buddha and followed his teachings even though there were some who disliked him. Today, Buddhism is one of the most widely practiced religions in the world.

This book makes for a great information book because it is presenting the reader with basic information on the history of Buddhism. Some of the information was most like elaborated for the sake of making it flow like an actual story, but all of the facts of how Siddartha came to be Buddha, the enlightened one is accurate. This informational book serves the purpose of presenting accurate and appealing content to spark an interest in the reading on this subject.

This book did not receive any awards.

Miller & d' Altan, Anne & Paolo. Buddha: The Father of Buddhism. Broomall, Pennsylvania: Mason Crest Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear - Concept Book

The book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?, written by Bill Martin Jr. is a book about different colors and animals. There is no true story line to this book, it is just multiple pages of different colored animals asking each other what they see. It starts off asking a large Brown Bear what he sees. He says that he sees a Redbird looking at him. So the next page goes to the Redbird and asks it what it sees. The Redbird sees a Yellow Duck looking at it. The Yellow Duck sees a Blue Horse, the Blue Horse sees a Green Frog, the Green Frog sees a Purple Cat, the Purple Cat sees a White Dog, the White Dog sees a Black Sheep, the Black Sheep sees a Goldfish, the Goldfish sees a Mother, the Mother sees children and the children see all of the animals previously mentioned throughout the book.

I think this is a great concept book because it is very simple and can effectively teach children about different colors and animals. According to our text book, concept books introduce single, focused concepts to young children. One of the typical topics include colors which is exaclty what this book is about; it associates colors and meanings to objects. This book is also very repetitive which is very helpful in children's literature because the children can pick up on the rythm of the story. If they do pick up on the rythm, they can begin to recite the book along with the reader.

This beloved children's book has been a favorite among children, parents and teachers for many, many years. It has sold over seven million copies in various formats and languages.

Martin, Bill Jr. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. 1967

One of the Family - Contemporary Realistic Fiction

The book, One of the Family, was written Peggy Archer and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. This book is about a family who has a new baby. There are already four older children named, Craig, Bob, Davey and Carrie. All of the children love the new baby, Melissa and always want to be around her. They will talk to her, sing to her, show her their toys and what they are doing or eating. One day, the children's parents go out and the babysitter Mrs. Webber comes to stay with the children. All of the children are busy playing and doing various activities around the house. Craig was listening to his favorite music on the radio, Davey was making a tool caddy, Bob was drawing pictures and Carrie was building a tower out of blocks while singing Old McDonald had a Farm. Once the children's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Brown left Mrs. Webber told all of the children to be quiet so Melissa could sleep. She said, "Goodness gracious, this house is mucn too noisy for a baby. Babies need peace and quiet so they can go to sleep." So all of the children put away their toys and music and were very quiet so Melissa could sleep. All of a sudden Melissa became very restless and began crying. Mrs. Webber did everything she could to make Melissa stop crying but nothing worked. She changed her, fed her and rocked her in the rocking chair but Melissa continued to cry. Finally all the children began telling Mrs. Webber what Melissa likes. "She likes it when I read to her" said Bob. "And she likes my hammer" said Davey. "And my music" added Carrie. After hearing all of this Mrs. Webber agreed that maybe a little noise wouldn't hurt anything. So all the children went back to their toys and music and started playing with them again. To Mrs. Webber's surprise, Melissa immediately stopped crying and began smiling and cooing. Soon after Melissa was fast alseep. Mrs. Webber finally said, "I can see that this is one baby who doesn't need peace and quiet. I guess Melissa is just one of the family!"

I think this is a great example of a humorous contemporary realistic fiction book. Not only are all the events that occur in the story believable, but the story line is very humorous. It is funny how Melissa is just like her brothers and sister and loves the noises they make and watching them do their activities.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I think it is a great book to read to children espeically ones who's parents are expecting a new baby in the family. This book can get the child ready to be an older brother or sister and show them how they can help take care of and look after the new baby!

Peggy Archer has had many published children's books. This book did not receive any awards but some of her other books were on the New York Bestseller list and norminated for variour recognitions and awards.

Archer, Peggy. Racine, Wisconsin: Western Publishing Company, Inc. 1983.

Jenny's in the Hospital - Contemporary Realistic Fiction

The book, Jenny's in the Hospital, was written by Seymour Reit and illustrated by Nina Barbaresi. This book is about a little girl named Jenny who breaks her arm and has to go to the hospital. The book starts out with Jenny and her mom at the park. Jenny is playing various sporting activities when she falls, breaks her arm and hits her head. Jenny's mother takes her to the hospital where they put her arm in a cast and preform tests to make sure her head is okay. After staying overnight in the hospital Jenny is feeling much better and has made friends with her roomates Gloria and Ellen. Gloria is in for a surgery and Ellen was in the hospital for a series of tests. The next morning, after seeing the doctor, a hospital aide named Clifford befriends Jenny and takes her on a speical tour of the hospital. Jenny loved this and told her parents when they arrived. After being checked out, Jenny had Gloria, Ellen and Clifford sign her cast. She was feeling much better and excited to get home!

This book is a great example of contemporary realistic fiction because this is something that could actually happen. Even though the actual story is ficticious, the events that occured our ones that would happen to an actual person. There are no talking animals, fantasy world or invented creatures. Everything is as it is in the natural world.

There were no awards given to this book.

Reit, Seymour. Jenny's in the Hospital. Racine, Wisconsin: Merrigold Press New York, 1984

Olympics! - Informational Book

The book, Olympics!, is an informational book written by B.G Hennessy and illustrated by Michael Chesworth. This book is about everything that happens in order to have the Olympics. It starts off with a history of how the Olympics got started in Greece. It stated how athletes would compete in games called the Olympics to test their skills in sports. "The winners were the strongest, the fastest and the bravest athletes of their time." I really enjoyed this book because it did not only focus on the athletes. It talked about every part that goes into making the Olympics what it is. It talks about how the athletes train, the people who create all the equpiment and supplies needed for the Olympics like skates, running shoes, balls, nets, sticks, medals, costumes etc...it then talks about the construction workers who build and design huge areans in the Country that is hosting the Olympics that year. Next, it talks about the planes, trains and busses that take the athletes to the Olympic Village, where they will be staying for the next two weeks while the games are being held. It also talks about how every four years they have the summer games and every four years they have the winter games. Once the Olympics are over, the book states that, "Not everyone can win. Some athletes lose. Some cry. They have worked so long and hard, and they are very disappointed. But every athlete, whether he or she has won a medal or not, is now an Olympian." I think this is a great statement because it is saying even if you don't win, you still should be proud of how hard you worked because you can go a long way with a little hard work.

I would classify this book as an Informational Picture Book because it fits the criteria stated in our text book. "Informational picture books are there to present accurate and appealing content aimed at awakening an interest in the reader." These types of books are usually more heavilty illustrated than chapter books. This was exactly what this book was. It was heavilty illustrated, a full bleed, and it aimed at just telling the basic facts about the Olympics to make the reader intreseted in this topic.

There were no awards listed for this book.

Hennessy, B.G. Olympics! New York: The Penguin Group, 1996

Little Bear's Friend - Beginning Reader

The beginnign reader book I chose was, Little Bear's Friend, written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak; this was an I CAN READ book. In the beginning of the book, a small bear named Little Bear was sitting in the trees looking out at the world. He see's a young girl on the ground who is lost. When Little Bear gets to the bottom, he helps the girl named Emily and her doll, Lucy find their way back to Lucy's parents tent. Lucy is spending the summer camping with her family. From this point on, Little Bear and Emily are great friends and they spend almost everyday playing together. They play with Little Bear's other friends Owl, Cat, Duck and Hen. The first time the play they have a tea party and Emily's dolls breaks her arm. But Little Bear saves the day and wraps Lucy's arm up with some tape to fix it. At the end of the summer Emily must leave to go back to school but she gives Little Bear a pen as a goodbye presnet. In return, Little Bear gives Emily a sailboat to sail in her bathroom. Once Emily leaves, Little Bear wants to leave how to write so he can write Emily a letter. Once he does learn to write he writes Emily telling her he misses her and can not wait until next summer so they can play again!

This book was in the form of a chapter book. It was a very easy read and only had a couple sentences on each page. There were four chapters in the book and each page had illustrations on it. This book was still a children's book but was a step above the normal children's picture books. What makes a beginning reader book different from a typical children's book is that the text is very easy and simple to read. This is because a child is reading this to themsleves and the adult is not reading it to them. Many children's book are for very young children who can not read themselves yet so the adult just reads the stories to them. This however, must be made simple enough that a beginning reader can read and comprehend the story on their own.

I think this book was a great example of a beginning reader book because it was simple to read but it looked like a "grown up" book. Since it was in the form of a chapter book and the illustrations were just on the upper half of the page, a child feels like they are reading an older children's book. Most children beginning to read want to feel like they are mature and can read a book by themselves. By reading this book own their own and finishing it, a child will feel a great sense of accomplishment which will empower them to want to read more books like it.

I found no awards given for this book.

Minarik, Else. Little Bear's Friend. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. 1960

There is a Bird on Your Head! - Modern Fantasy

The book, There is a Bird on Your Head, was written by Mo Williams. In this book, there are two characters, an elephant named Gerald and a pig named Piggy. One day, Piggy tells Gerald that a bird has landed on his head. Gerald gets very aggravated because he does not want a bird on his head. Soon after, a second bird lands on his head and begins to make a nest with the first bird. Piggy tells Gerald they are making a nest because they are love birds. Next, the love birds lay three eggs in their nest on top of Gerald's head. Once the eggs have hatched into three baby chicks, Gerald tells piggy that he does not want "three baby chicks, two birds and a nest" on his head. Piggy asks Gerald where he wants them and he says somewhere else! Piggy clamly tells Gerald to ask the birds to move off of his head. Gerald is surprised by such an easy resolution to his problem but gives it a try. He says, "excuse me, will you please go somewhere else?". To his surprise the birds agree and leave Gerald's head. The ending of the book is comical because the place the birds decided to relocate to was on top of Piggy's head.

This book is an example of a Modern Fantasy book because it involves talking animals. Animal Fantasy is one of the main aspects of Modern Fantasy novels. I think since animals are such a big part of children's lives that books which incorporate them speaking and living as humans do can really realte to a child. They like hearing stories about animals talking because it makes it seem like they are really real.

I think this is a great book because it is humorous and easy to read. I read this book to a Kindergarten class at Captain Elementary school for my Read Aloud and all the studnets really loved it. They wanted me to read it multiple times and they laughed every time when I got to the ending when the birds land on Piggy's head!

Mo Williams is a Best - Selling Picture Book Creator and this book was the winner of the 2008 Theodor Suess Geisel Award.

Williams, Mo. There is a Bird on Your Head. New York City: Hyperion Books for Children, 2007.

Wemberly Worried - Modern Fantasy

The book Wemberely Worrired was written by Kevin Henkes. This book is about the character, Wemberely who worries about everything. She worries about "big things, little things and things in between". Everyday her parents would tell her that she worries too much. Her father said that when she worries he worries but Wemberely couldn't help worrying about everything. Wemberely always carreid her toy bunny, Petal with her wherever she went. When she got really nervous, Wemberely would rub Petal's ears, but then she worried that soon Petal would have no ears! When it came time for Wemberely to go to school, she was more nervous than she had ever been. Once she was in the classroom, her teacher, Ms. Peachum introduced her to another little girl who was just like Wemberely. Her name was Jewel and she also had a toy cat named Nibblet that she carred around with her. Wemberely and Jewel got along great and played together the entire day! At the end of the day Ms. Peachum told everyone to "Come back tomorrow!" and Wemberely turned and said, "Don't worry, I will!"

This book is in the Modern Fantasy genre because it, "violates the natural, physical laws of our known world" (Children's Literature Briefly). Wemberely's character is a mouse and in the natural world, mice do not talk or go to school. The only aspect of this book that puts it under the Modern Fantasy genre is the fact that it has talking animals. Many mondern fantasy books have entire new worlds and made up creautres. This book however, encompases every aspect of real life excpet for the fact that the main characters are mice.

This book has won the ALA Notable Children's Book Award, the IRA/CBC Children's Choice award and the IRA/CBC Teacher's Choice Award.

Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly Worried. Hony Kong: South China Printing Company, 1988.

Goodnight Moon - Predictable Book

Goodnight Moon, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurt is a great example of a predictable book. With a title like, Goodnight Moon, it is pretty obvious that the book is about saying goodnight before going to bed. What makes a book predictable is that is has repeated language, story patterns and other familiar sequencing. The book, Goodnight Moon, repeatedly uses the phrase of "Goodnight .... " the children know that the beginning of every sentence will be saying Goodnight to someone or something. Rhyming also plays a major role in predictable books. I think rhyming makes predictable books easier and more interesting to read. These books are also great for beginner readers because they are easy and fun to read.

There is no main character in this book, but there is a baby bunny and an old lady bunny. The baby bunny is most likely the narrator of the story. He is saying goodnight to everything including the moon, his great green room, his red balloon, his picture of a cow jumping over the moon, his kittens and mittens, his little toy house and a young mouse and so on. After he is finished saying goodnight to everyone and everything it is finally time to go to sleep. 

This is a great book to read to a child before going to sleep but it can also be read at school before nap time. As parents you can have your child say goodnight to the things in their room. As a teacher, you can have your students either have a discussion about the things they would say goodnight to or if they can write, have them make a list. After they make a list they can share with the rest of the class what things the wrote down that they would say goodnight too.

Goodnight Moon slowly became a bestseller. Annual sales grew from about 1,500 copies in 1953 to 20,000 in 1970; and by 1990, the total number of copies sold was more than 4 million

Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon. Printed in USA: Harper and Row Publishers Inc., 1947 

Link to 2 1/2 year old reading Goodnight Moon on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTMjrnkxKg8 

Carl's Sleepy Afternoon - Wordless Book

Carl's Sleepy Afternoon, is a wordless book written by Alexandra Day. Even though the book does has some text, the majority of the pages are solely illustrations. To get the complete story, the reader must look at each illustration to see all the different events that are happening. 

The book starts out with a mother and her daughter, Madeline saying goodbye to their dog, Carl. They tell Carl they are going out shopping to find Madeline a new dress and that Carl should enjoy a nice long nap while they are out. Once Mother and Madeline are gone, Carl leaves the house to help out everyone in town. He first helps the delivery man make delivers, then he goes to the bakery where he sees Mother and Madeline but they don't see him. Next, Carl goes to the vet to drop off the delivery from this morning and helps the nurse give another dog a shot. Then he plays with a little boy and his grandfather in the park and he gives an old lady some flowers. After that, Carl helps put out a fire and rescue a dog and her puppies. Carl then sees Mother and Madeline at the dress shop and Madeline sees him but Mother doesn't. He knows they are almost finished so he runs as fast as he can back home and makes it just in time. Mother and Madeline walk in, greet Carl and ask him if he had a nice sleepy afternoon.

I think this book teaches a great lesson in how to be a nice, helpful person (or dog). Everyone in town really enjoyed Carl's company and were happy whenever he came around.  He was always there to help someone in need and you could tell people counted on him. This book lets children use their imaginations. Since many pages do not have any text at all, children can be creative and come up with their own reasons for what Carl is doing. For instance in one picture Carl is sitting in front of a book store where there is a picture of Carl promoting his new book on a big poster displayed the window. The poster says, "Carl's Back! With a New Adventure".  Students can come up with their own reasons for why Carl has his own book and what other adventures he might have had. 

Overall I think this book was a great example of how Wordless books let children be creative and use their imaginations while reading and looking at the pictures. The first thing young children like to do when they read a book is to look at the pictures. And now with wordless books, they have the opportunity to take the book in any direction they want! 

Day , Alexandra. Carl's Sleepy Afternoon. Canada: Green Tiger Press , 2005.

Where's Waldo? - Participation Book

Where's Waldo, written by Martin Handford is a great example of a participation book. What makes a participation book beneficial to children is that it physically involves them in the story. It can either have them pulling on things to reveal hidden things or finding hidden objects in the illustrations. These types of books not only provide children with good stories, they also make them use their brains and be physically involved with the book. 

Where's Waldo takes the reader on a journey through all of Waldo's adventures during his worldwide hike. The only text that is written is in the form of post cards written by Waldo to his followers. The first postcard introduces Waldo and all the places he's been. Waldo tells the reader to find him, a few of his friends and other objects in each picture. Waldo sends a post card from all the places he went including the beach, skiing, trains stations, airports, the zoo and so on. At the end of the book, Waldo says he lost something during each trip and needs the reader to go back and look for it. He also provides a checklist on the last page so the reader can check off everything they have found on each page. 

This book requires a lot of participation on the part of the reader. This would be a good lesson to teach children about writing post cards as well as working on their concentration and memory skills. After they have read the book once, you can have them read it again maybe on a different day and see if they can remember where Waldo was in each picture. 

What makes this book special is the incredible detailed illustrations. It took Martin Handford a total of two years to complete these illustrations. Where's Waldo? also spent more than 93 weeks in the number one spot on the New York Times Best Sellers List and won the Best Kids Book award in 2003. 

Where's Waldo Official Website: http://www.findwaldo.com/

Handford, Martin. Where's Waldo?. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 1987, 1997 

Madeline - Picture Story Book

The book, Madeline, written by Ludwig Bemelmans is a great example of a picture story book. What makes a picture story book is the connection between the story and the illustrations. They work together on each page to tell a story. One could not exist without the other or the whole story would not truly be told. 

The book Madeline tells the story of a young girl who lives in Paris with twelve other little girls and Miss Clavel. Madeline is not afraid of anything and likes to play tricks. One night however, she becomes ill and has to go to the hospital to get her appendix out. She stays in the hospital for ten days and then the other eleven girls come to visit. They see that Madeline is fine and they are glad she is feeling better. They are amazed with all the toys and candy Madeline has and she shows off her scar that she got from the surgery. Once the girls leave and go back to the house, they all pretend that their stomachs hurt and they want their appendix out too! Miss Clavel tells them to be thankful that they are well and to go to sleep. "And that is all there is - there isn't anymore". 

This book shows the importance of the connection between text and illustrations. There is very little text written on each page. The majority of each page is made up of the illustrations. The text is only seen at the very bottom of the page. Without the illustrations the reader would fully understand the story. The text does not specify that the girls live in a girls home with a Nun, only from the illustrations do you see this information. Without the illustrations one might think that the other eleven girls were her sisters and they would not have any idea who Miss Clavel was. 

This book, Madeline has been very popular ever since it came out in 1939. In 1952 Madeline was made into a short film shown in cinemas. Then again in 1998 it was made into a feature film. It was also made into a TV series for HBO in 1989. The book was award the Caldecott Honor Award by the American Library Association. 

Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline. 1. New York, New York: The Viking Press, 1939. 

I Want a Dog - Contemporary Realistic Fiction

The book, I Want a Dog, written by Helga Bansch is a Contemporary Realistic Fiction book about animals. In the story, a young girl named Lisa loves dogs so much and wants on of her own. She begs her parents to get her a dog, but they always tell her no, because their apartment is too small. Lisa first tries being really good and when that doesn't work she tries being really bad. When both of these strategies fail, Lisa decides she is going to post up an ad in the park. The ad says, "WANTED: Dog to Borrow...Walking, Brushing, Petting, Playing. Your Pet Needs A Pal! See Lisa - Dog's Best Friend 77 Oak Street apt 3". An elderly man  named Mr. Lewis answered Lisa's ad. He brought his dog, Rollo over to Lisa's apartment and asked if she would help walk and play with Rollo because he is getting too old to keep up with him! Lisa's parents think this is a great idea because Lisa gets to experience the fun of having a dog without it actually living in their apartment! Lisa was now very happy because she finally had a dog to play with! 

This book is a great example of a Contemporary Realistic Fiction book because the story of a little girl wanting a dog is something that could really happen. Even though there is not actually a little girl named Lisa who lived in a small apartment and wanted a dog, this story could be true. Also, young children can relate to Lisa. Young kids always want a pet of their own so they can relate to the feelings Lisa is going through when she tries to get her parents to say yes to a dog. 

I think this book teaches a lesson in compromise. Since Lisa couldn't get a dog of her own, she thought up a new idea of taking care of someone else's dog. This way, she got to have the fun of playing with a dog without actually having it live in her small apartment. She is also helping out Mr. Lewis by taking care of Rollo since he cannot. 

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. I think it teaches a great lesson and is also a great example of a Contemporary Realistic Fiction book about animals!

Bansch, Helga. I Want a Dog. New York : North South Books Inc., 2009. 

Author: Helga Bansch is a published illustrator of children's books. Published credits of Helga Bansch include Chocolata/ Chocolata and Leo's Dream.

Chick Chicka 1.2.3. - Counting Book

Chick Chick 1.2.3. is a picture book and a counting book. It was written by Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson and Lois Ehlert. Counting books really do help children learn the concept of counting. A good counting book allows for personal discovery and are beautifully illustrated. This book does allow for personal discovery because the children learn that no matter how small they are they can always find a place where the fit in. 

Chicka Chicla 1 2 3 takes the reader through the numbers 1-20 then goes by 10's up to 100. All of the numbers want to get into the tree but there is no place for the number 0 because he is too little. Two buzzing bees fly into the tree and scare the rest of the numbers out and they tumble to the ground. Zero sees 10 at the top of the tree and joins him to make 100. He finally found the perfect place for him and all the rest of the numbers go back into the tree to join him.
This book is great for teaching children about numbers and counting. Also it teacher kids about multiples of 10. After the number 20, it goes up by 10's to 30, 40 50 etc..all the way to 99. Finally at the end when zero joins 10 the book get to number 100. This book also rhymes and has a rhythmic tone while you read it. Those kind of book are always interesting to read and keep the reader and listener interested. It is also an easy read so older children can read it by themselves or with others. By reading this book multiple times a child can learn their numbers very well.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and if I ever have to teach a lesson on numbers and counting in my classroom I will definitely use the book Chicka Chicka 1.2.3 to teach the lesson!

Martin, Bill Jr. and Sampson, Michael. Illustrations by Ehlert, Lois. Chicka Chicka 1.2.3.. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2004. This book was a New York Times Best Seller. The book has won numerous awards from a variety of publications, libraries, and parenting groups, including Best Book of 2004 by Parenting Magazine

Green Eggs and Ham - Beginning Reader

The story Green Eggs and Ham is a beginning reader picture book! Beginning Reader books are designed to be well written yet easy to read.  In this classic children's book the character Sam - I - Am is trying to convince the other character to try his green eggs and ham. The story takes the reader on a journey of how far Sam - I - Am will go to make his friend try his Green Eggs and Ham! His friend has already made up his mind that he does like green eggs and ham before he has even tried them. Sam - I - Am finally takes it so far that his friend gives in and says he will try them. After trying the green eggs and ham his friend realizes that he does like them! He even says he will eat them anywhere! I think this book is a great beginning reader book because it is challenging in the sense that there are many words on some pages but these words are not difficult. It is also a rhyming book which is fun for kids because they like to see what words will be rhymed with other words! I think one message this book sends to kids is not to judge something without giving it a chance first. Sam - I - Am's friend immediately thought he did not like green eggs and ham until he actually gave them a chance and found out he loved them! This is a great, fun and entertaining book that I would high recommend to anyone, young or old! 

Seuss, Dr.. Green Eggs and Ham. New York: Beginner Books Inc. , 1960.

*According to Publisher's Weekly, Green Eggs and Ham is the 4th best selling English language children's book of all time. 

Alphabears: An ABC book

(The above image is letter "C" from the book: "C is for Charles, a stuffy old bear. He wears a bow tie and a part in his hair) 

Alphabears is an ABC picture book! It takes the reader on a journey through the alphabet naming off bears that start with each letter and something special about them! For example, for the first bear, Amanda it says, "A is for Amanda, a good teddy bear who carries sweet apples everywhere." Not only does this book teach the reader and listener about the alphabet it is also a rhyming book! I think rhyming books are very enjoyable to listen to. The book takes on a certain flow that makes you want to keep reading to find out which words will rhyme next! Not only is the text good but the illustrations are excellent. Illustrator Michael Hague provides very detailed pictures of each bear and their special qualities. When they say that "F is for Freddie, a big frightful mess, what he has been up to no one can guess" there is a detailed picture of Freddie the bear in a bathroom covered in mud with bandages all over his body! Not only will a child listening to this book learn their ABCs, they will also learn about rhyming and relating the text to the pictures. I think this is a great ABC book because even though it is just teaching about the ABC's it does it in a fun and entertaining way! 

Hague, Kathleen (Author) Hague, Michael (Illustrator) Alphabears: An ABC Book. Broadway, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1992

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classic children's book. It was written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It is about a young orphaned girl named Dorothy who lived with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. She is swept up in a cyclone storm in Kansas City and lands in the Land of the Munchkins, the Land of Oz. There she is met by the Good Witch of the North, Glinda. Glinda gives her the silver shoes that belonged to the Wicked Witch's sister. She tells her to wear these shoes and go find the Wizard of Oz. She will find him by following the yellow brick road. On her way, Dorothy meets a Scarecrow who is in search of a brain, a Tin Man who is in search of a heart and a Cowardly Lion who is in search of courage. They encounter obstacles on their way but they overcome them and eventually arrive at the Emerald City. There, they each speak to the Wizard of Oz but they all see him differently. The Wicked Witch tries to interfere and capture Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion but Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her and she melts. The Wizard of Oz then tries to help Dorothy get home but first Toto reveals that the Wizard is actually an old man who had once visited Dorothy's home before. When they are all on his hot air balloon, Toto sees a kitten and runs towards it. Dorothy followed him and they missed the balloon. Glinda tells Dorothy she has always had the power to get home all she has to do is click her heals together. 

This book is a perfect example of a Modern Fantasy book. There are mythical creatures and talking animals. The book is also set in a magical fantasy land; the Land of the Munchkins/The Land of Oz/Emerald City. Dorothy travels to the Emerald City with "protective figures": the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. They help her overcome obstacles and make it safely to Emerald City. There is a good versus evil plot in the story, the Wicked Witch of the West being the evil character and The Good Witch of the North, Glinda, Dorothy and her friends being the good characters. Another trait of Modern Fantasy books is that the character returns safely home which Dorothy does in the end. 

I think this book is a great example of Modern Fantasy in children's literature. This classic story has stood the test of time and I think it will continue to do so. I think one of the underlying messages of this book is that good always trumps evil. I really enjoyed reading this book again because it was one of my childhood favorites! I would definitely recommend it to others and will read it to my future children and students. 

Baum, Frank L. (author) W.W. Denslow (illustrator) . The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Chicago, IL: George M. Hill Co. , 1900. 

Sleeping Beauty - Traditional Fantasy

In the story Sleeping Beauty, translated by David Walser, a King and Queen give birth to a beautiful daughter. In celebration, her father decided to have a banquet where he invited the Wise Women. There was a problem though, there were thirteen Wise Women but he only had twelve golden plates from which they must eat off of. Because of this he only invited twelve of the thirteen Wise Women. After the banquet the Wise Women presented the baby with their magical gifts. After the eleventh Wise Women gave her gift, the thirteenth Wise Women, who wasn't invited showed up. She was angry because she was left out and put a curse on the baby. The curse said that on the baby's fifteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and die. The twelfth Wise Women who had not yet given her gift decided to make that sentence less sever since she could not wipe out the evil gift completely. She decided to make the girl sleep for one hundred years after she pricked her finger instead of dying. On the girl's 15th birthday she climbed to the highest tower in the castle where she inevitability pricked her finger and fell into a deep sleep. Everything and everyone else in the castle also went into a deep sleep. Over the years many nobel men tried to rescue the girl, who was no known as the Sleeping Beauty but they all failed. Finally, a hundred years later a prince decided to try and wake the Sleeping Beauty and climb to the highest tower in the castle. He made it to the top and kissed Sleeping Beauty and she woke. Everything and everyone else in the castle who had been asleep woke up. Soon after the prince and Sleeping Beauty married and they lived happily ever after. 

The story of Sleeping Beauty if a great example of a Traditional Fantasy. In most Traditional Fantasy's there is a problem that happens to the character but in the end everything ends up okay and they live happily ever after. In many of the Traditional Fantasy stories there is a young girl, most likely a princess who is saved by a handsome prince. In the story, the character of Sleeping Beauty did not change throughout the course of the story. She was a single-faced character. In the beginning she was a sweet, beautiful girl and this is how she was when the story ended. This is a typical trait of Traditional Fantasy stories. Another aspect of Traditional Fantasies is that time passes quickly. In this story 100 years pass by in an instant, like no time had passed at all. 

I think one of the underlying meanings of this story is that revenge is evil. The Thirteenth Wise Woman was angry that she wasn't invited to the banquet and because of this she sought revenge on the King and his innocent daughter. Because of her anger and revenger on the girl, she wanted to ruin her life. She would have succeeded by killing the girl too if it hadn't been for the twelfth Wise Women who saved her. Overall I really enjoyed the story about Sleeping Beauty and it is another classic story that will be around for generations to come. 

Wasler, David (translator/text writer) Pienkowski, Jan (Illustrations) The Fairy Tales. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 1977, 2005. *Jan Pienkowski is an award winning illustrator. (Which exact awards he has won is not stated)