Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak (also illustrated)
Caldecott Award Winner
Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN: 0-06-025493-9

My rating: 2 out of 5

I've been a fan of Maurice Sendak ever since I read "Little Bear" at my grandma's years ago. However, I can't say that I am a big fan of this particular title. The main character, Max, is a little brat whose room is transformed into a jungle, where he soon becomes king of "The Wild Things." He returns home to find his supper waiting for him. I feel that Max is the wrong kind of character to be featured in a book such as this - he is the same at the end of the story as he was at the beginning. It almost encourages kids to just go and do whatever they want.

One thing I did enjoy though, was Sendak's illustrations. They are richly detailed, and yet, still maintain a certain cartoon-feeling about them.

"Where The Wild Things Are" is not Sendak's best work, but it would work well as a quick read-aloud, but I am not sure if a teacher would be able to use it to connect it to another subject. It may be best to leave this one for leasure time.

Aunt Chip & The Great Triple Creek Dam Affair

Aunt Chip & The Great Triple Creek Dam Affair - Patricia Polacco (also illustrated)
Philomel Books
ISBN: 0-399-22943-4

My rating: 4 out of 5

Patricia Polacco does a fantastic job creating this town where no one reads anymore, except for one woman - Aunt Chip. I think Polacco's story is very well-told and gives forth a good message that reading can be fun and exciting. This book is entertaining for younger readers and, as an older reader, I found it to be intresting in another respect - that the town is an allegory for how society in general, has slowly given up reading for pleasure because of the TV and its popularity. I have seen this with many of my old classmates who cite that they do not like reading because they can watch the same story on TV.

The illustrations in "Aunt Chip," also done by Polacco, are incredibly detailed and very close to life. Personally, I'm not crazy about her style, but I think they are very well-done illustrations, nonetheless.

As opposed to "Click, Clack, Moo," I would not recommend this for a read-aloud. It is much too long and the students will quickly lose interest if forced to sit through a full reading of this book. However, I would recommend "Aunt Chip & The Great Triple Creek Dam Affair" for older elementary students. It is a fun story with a good message that reading is both fun and exciting.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type - Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Betsey Lewin
Caldecott Honor Book
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0-689-83213-3

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

This is a great book. "Click, Clack, Moo" has a simple premise and story that kids will find easy to follow and will enjoy. If teachers decide to use this as a read-aloud, they may want to bring in a typewriter or spend some time explaining the simple machine to students who, by the time they enter the classroom, have been immersed in a world full of computers, video games, and internet, and may not know what a typewriter is.

The one thing that really drew me into this book was the wonderful illustrations by Ms. Lewin. As someone who enjoys creating art, I can say that I find watercolors incredibly hard to control, but Ms. Lewin has done a wonderful job at using the paint medium to create a bright, colorful world that will draw anyone into the story. I was particularly impressed by her ability to portray the animals in the dark/shadows while still making the page bright with color.

"Click, Clack, Moo" is a funny and wonderful story and would make a great read-aloud. Many activities can be branched off from this book into various different subjects. One that comes to mind is connecting this with history and discussing strikes, mediation, and unions. Another possibility is doing an English lesson on letter writing and composition.

"Click, Clack, Moo" is a fun and well-illustrated story that will be enjoyed by many children to come.

A Long Way From Chicago

A Long Way From Chicago - Richard Peck
Newbery Honor Book
Puffin Books
ISBN: 0-8037-2290-7

My rating: 5 out of 5

I thoroughly enjoyed "A Long Way From Chicago." Each chapter is self-contained, covering one summer trip taken by Joey and Mary Alice to see their grandmother, which makes for easy reading; especially if do not have time to read a lot in one sitting. The best character, hands down, is the grandmother. She is kind, witty, old-fashioned, and in a way, her character contains some aspect of everyone's own grandmother. Richard Peck does an excellent job of showing how Joey and Mary Alice grow and mature year after year. "A Long Way From Chicago" is funny, well-written, and very touching all at the same time. I would definitely recommend that teachers feature this book in their classroom libraries.

The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963

The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963 - Christopher Paul Curtis
Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award Winner
Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
ISBN: 0-440-41412-1

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

For the most part, I liked "The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963." I can remember reading this for the first time in grade school and enjoying it. The characters are very well-written and realistic. I find the interactions between the two brothers, Kenny and Byron, especially entertaining because at times they seem to mirror situations between my younger brother and myself growing up.

However, there were a few things I did not like about this book. I disliked that the reader must get through over half the book to even discover that the family is going to make a trip to Alabama. One confusing aspect was the symbol of death, similiar to the Grim Reaper, that Kenny creates in his mind. He describes it in a very real way to the point where the reader is not sure if it is physically there or not. I, as an adult, had a difficult time determining just what was going on, and I feel that such a concept will be a bit too complex for some children.

Nonetheless, "The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963" is a good book and would be a good book to incorporate in a lesson when studying the civil rights movement and Southern violence in the 1960s.