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) 

Cinderella - Traditional Fantasy

In the story, Cinderella, translated by David Walser, there is a young girl who is made to be the servant for her evil step-mother and step-sisters. She is given the named Cinderella by her step-sisters who called her Cinder-Wench because she would sit down among the cinder and ashes after she finished her chores. Cinderella's step sister were very excited because the king's son was throwing a ball and he was inviting all the fashionable maidens. On the night of the ball Cinderella was sad that she was not attending with her step sisters. She went out to the garden and started to cry. After a minuet, her fairy godmother appeared made her a beautiful gown and a horse and carriage to ride in. At the ball she was the envy of all the other girls and the prince was completely taken with her. The next night at the ball had to leave in a hurry because the clock had stuck midnight. Without hesitating she began to run home leaving behind one of her glass slippers. The next day the prince proclaimed that he was going to have every girl try on the shoe and marry the girl the shoe belonged to. When one of the prince's men came to Cinderella's house he tried the slippers on her step sisters. When it didn't fit them, Cinderella asked if she could try it on. When she did, she had a perfect fit and she pulled out the matching glass slipper. She and the prince were married a few days later and they lived happily ever after! 

I think the story Cinderella is the perfect example of a Traditional Fantasy. This story has been passed on for centuries. It is one of the most famous stores of all time. Something that makes Traditional Fantasy's different from picture books is that they can be told without any accompanying illustrations. The story of Cinderella that I read had very few illustrations and most of the time I didn't even look at them! Another aspect of Traditional Fantasy's is that they always have a main character that is an underdog but in the end they prosper. 

I think the story of Cinderella has the underlying meaning that even if you are against all odds and don't think your life can get any worse something can happen to change everything for the better. Overall I really enjoyed the Cinderella story and I think it will continue be a classic story to be told 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) 

Where The Wild Things Are - Picture Story Book

In the book, Where The Wild Things Are it starts out with a boy named Max who is misbehaving. He is running around the house wearing a wolf costume. His mother gets angry and sends him to his room with no supper. While in his room, he imagines his bedroom turns into a forest. He takes a boat for what seems like years and years and comes to an island where the Wild Things are. He conquers the Wild Things by staring into their eyes and is made King of All Wild Things. After a while, Max becomes homesick and starts missing his Mother. He goes back on his boat and returns home to his room. When he gets in his room he finds his supper waiting for him, and its still hot. 

I think this book is a great example of a Picture Book. The whole book only consists of a few sentences and the majority of the book is illustrations. There are even a few pages that have no text on them and are only illustrations. The illustrations are essentially what make the book. 

I think this book sends the message that even if your angry and get sent to your room you will eventually miss home and want to go back no matter what. Overall I think this is a great book with excellent illustrations. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting book to read! 

Sendak, Maurice. Where The Wild Things Are. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1963.

This book was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964 and also won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. It was also an American Library Association Notable Book. 

Old Hat, New Hat - Dr. Seuss - Beginning Reader

The book Old Hat New Hat is about a bear who thinks his old hat is not good enough anymore and wants a new hat. He sees a store that is selling New Hats and decides to go in and buy one. After trying on many different types of hats, he realizes that the perfect hat for him is his dirty, patched up Old Hat. He leaves the store very happy wearing his Old Hat.

Even though this book wasn't written by Dr. Seuss it is still considered a Dr. Seuss book and is apart of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners club. This is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books. Not only is the text fun and interesting as Dr. Seuss rhymes all the words, but the illustrations that go along with them are what really make the book. Dr. Seuss describes many different types of hats in this book. For example, he describes a hat that is "too light" and without having the illustrations to accompany the text, we would not have know that the hat was "too light" because it had balloons tied to it!

This book is great for young children who are just learning how to read. The words are not too difficult but if they are stuck on a word they can look up at the illustration and figure out what Dr. Seuss was writing about! I believe this book has a great message to share. Even if you have an "old hat" it does not mean that you need to trade it in for some new, flashy "new hat". Sometimes the things that make you happiest is your "old hat" and even though it is old, it doesn't mean that it is bad! At the end of the book when the bear walks out of the store happy with his "old hat" the store owner looks at him astonished, but the bear was very happy with his decision. This shows that the bear had self confidence in himself even though he was wearing an old, dirty hat. He didn't need a new, flasy hat to make him feel good about himself.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I was so happy when I got to read it again and I had forgotten how much I used to enjoy Dr. Seuss books as a child! I know I will read all the Dr. Seuss books to my children and my students when I become a parent and teacher.

Berenstain, Stan and Jan. Old Hat New Hat. New York : Random House Inc. , 1970.

The Foot Book - Dr. Seuss - Picture Story Book

The Foot Book is a book written by Dr. Seuss. In this book, we are taken on a journey through all the different types of feet one can encounter. The entire book is a rhyming book and as you read it, you get into a rhythm as you read the words. There are many different types of feet described in this book, for example there are " front feet, back feet, red feed, black feet." In this book, the illustrations are just as important as the text that is written. Without the illustrations the book could not have made a very big impact on children, because the words don't make much sense without pictures to go along with them. For example, at one point in the book Dr. Seuss wrote, "more and more feet twenty four feet". Without being able to see the illustrations that go along with the text we would not know that he was referring to some sort of animal that had twenty four feet.

I believe this book is a great book to read to children because it teaches about how people are different. In the book, there are many different types of feet you will meet and even though they are all different, they are all still feet. This book can teach children that it is okay for there to be many different types of feet, just like there can be many different types of people!

I believe this book will make a great, fun read aloud for parents to read to their children or teachers to read to their students. Children enjoy hearing rhyming books and these types of books help with strengthening vocabulary. But not only do children enjoy hearing these Dr. Seuss rhyming books, they enjoy seeing the illustrations that accompany the words because without them, the book would just consists of random rhyming words. Overall I really enjoyed this book, like I do all Dr. Seuss books and would highly recommend it!

Seuss, Dr.. The Foot Book. New York: Random House Inc., 1968.