Set #1

Deedy, C. A. (2007). Martina the beautiful cockroach. Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers.

Martina, the beautiful cockroach, is ready to marry. Her grandmother gives her advice on how to find the perfect husband- do the coffee test. If they get mad about spilling the coffee on their feet, then they are not the perfect match. Martina tries several suitors, but all fail the test. Finally, she meets Perez, the mouse, who passes the test. Martina finds that Perez is her perfect match. This story is great for ELLs to listen to a story with English and Cuban language. It is good for students who are not ELLs too because it introduces another language in the story, as well. In the story, the illustrator uses a green color to represent the cockroach which implies cool and calm, but uses the red and orange for the rooster to represent the opposite of cool and calm. This makes sense because the rooster was not cool and calm when Martina tried her coffee test (spilling it on his feet). The theme in this story is not overpowering the story, but simply shows that a kind husband will not be mean or yell when accidents happen like spilling the coffee.

 

DePaola, T. (1983). The legend of the bluebonnet. New York, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

The Comanche people had no rain, and drought and famine were hardest on them. The Great Spirits tell the people that a sacrifice of the most valued possession among them must be made because of all the taking from the Earth. She-Who-Is-Alone does the ultimate selfless act by sacrificing her doll (the only thing she has left from her family who died in the famine). After her giving sacrifice, she awakes to bluebonnet flowers (forgiveness) and rain for her people. This is a perfect story to read to your students when bluebonnets start popping up in the spring time. After reading it, you can have students draw a bluebonnet and write a selfless act they have done before. DePaola uses line, shape, color, and texture to unify the pictures. The composition works together to grab your eyes to the beautiful pictures in the story. The main character is a young girl who little children can relate to because she is young and has a doll. She does the ultimate selfless act by giving away her doll creating a lesson of being selfless.

Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. New York, New York: HarperCollins.

Max (in his wolf costume) gets in trouble for misbehaving, and he is sent to his room without supper. In his room, his fantasy runs wild, and he goes to the jungle where there are "wild things." He soon decides to go home, and when he goes home, supper is waiting for him. The texture created makes the characters seem real like, and Max's imaginations seem true. The pictures are big on the page making the reader feel like they are in the jungle, too. Max is a strong character in this book because he has a creative way of looking at the world, and his imagination reveals his personality, as well. The setting truly comes alive because of the illustrations. After reading this book to a class, ask the students to draw a picture of what they believe would be in their own jungle. This would bring out the personalities of the students like Max's personality was brought out in this story.

Singer, M. (2010). Mirror, mirror. New York, New York: Dutton.

Mirror, Mirror takes a creative spin on fairy tales. The mirror is used to reflect two different pictures and two different sides of the story. When you read the left side, it tells one person's view, and when you read the right side, it tells another person's view. It uses the same set of words, but reads them reversed. It uses different fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood. On the left side, it says the story of the little girl going through the forest to her grandma's house, and that she must not dawdle. On the right side, it tells the story from the wolf's point of view, and how the little girl skipping through the wolf's hood is a sweet treat while using the same words. This is such a neat idea for a story. The illustrator uses lines to create a mirror of the pictures and words. The mirror line separates the story into two different points of view or ideas. This unique style of the play on words and pictures has the reader laughing and thinking about the story in a different way than ever before. A great activity for students would be to create their own story with words making sense if you read them going up and going down like Singer did in this story.

Wiesner, D. (2001). The Three Pigs. New York, New York: Clarion.

The story starts off like the traditional story of three little pigs, but soon the author puts a twist on the story. The pigs go off to different settings. They do not stay with the wolf instead they are with a dragon and cat and the fiddle in different stories. The story ends with everyone back in the brick house. The pigs get to explore another world and not stick to the traditional world. Children will love getting to read a different tale of the little pigs, and should be encouraged to write their own story of where the pigs might go next. At first, the pictures start off like a cartoon, but then as they leave the original story, the pigs become real-like. This type of illustration really makes the book stand out as unique. Composition really seems to unify the pictures because lines, shapes, colors, and textures play a part in making these illustrations pop. This book gives children the idea that it is okay to deviate from traditional and think outside of the box.

Smith, L. (2011). It's a book. New York, New York: Roaring Brook.

Lane Smith creates a funny story with a monkey, mouse, and donkey. The monkey has a book, and donkey asks lots of questions about this book. Can it text, does it need a password, and do you have to have a screen name are some of the questions donkey asks monkey. Monkey replies over and over that it is a book. Donkey reads it and likes the book. Monkey does not get the book back, but donkey says he will charge it back up for monkey after he is finished with it. This book story can easily be related to all children because children have grown up with technology, and they believe like donkey everything texts, tweets, and needs a screen name/password. Smith uses shapes for the rectangular chairs and the animals bodies. He makes the monkey seem like a big character while the donkey and mouse are smaller. The plot is simple, but believable that the donkey does not understand the simplicity of a book. This could lead into a great discussion of how technology has changed, and a debate if books or ebooks or better.

Klassen, J. (2012). This is not my hat. Boston, MA: Candlewick.

This short book tells a great message. A little fish steals a hat from a big fish, and thinks he can get away with stealing the hat. The little fish explains that the big fish probably won't know it is gone, or who stole it, or where he is going. The little fish is wrong, and the reader can guess from the pictures that he was probably eaten by the big fish. Children can learn to not steal from others in this story, and a great discussion can be started on why you should not steal. The shapes used make the story come alive. The large shape of the big fish and small shape of the little fish help the reader understand exactly how much bigger the big fish was than the small fish. The setting of the story is set up all through the pictures. The seaweed and bubbles help the reader understand the story takes place under the sea.