The Giver

Title: The Giver

Author: Lois Lowry

Publishing Information: EMC Masterpiece Series- Access Edition

Number of Pages: 167

Genre: Childrens Novel

Summary of Plot:
This is a story about a boy names Jonah. He lives in a place where everything is controlled. Where they eat, sleep, marry and their job is chosen for them. When they are twelve years old they get to know what their job will be in the community. Jonah is chosen for a special job. It is not a job that they give out a lot. He is given the job of the Receiver. He has to study with the man who was the reciever and his job is to hold the memorize that once were in the world. For example in the community they don't know about color,sunshine,rain, snow or anything to that nature. Jonahs job is to keep all of these memories incase the government has a concern about something he can use his knowledge of memory to help them decided. Except now that Jonah learns all of these things he doesn't think its right that he has all of the memorize and the rest of the community doesn't so him and his teacher now known as The Giver give him a plan to run away and once the reciever leaves the community all of the memories will be resleased back into the members of the community. So he leaves set of to find something new. Now the community will have all those memorize to short through with the help of The Giver and Jonah will be free of the community.

My Reaction to the book:
What if the world was really like that? What if we lived in the world of sameness and didn't know any different? What would life be like with out color, smell and music? This book gave me alot of thinking to do. It made me think about the difference that I see in the world today and how i love them that much more cause I have them. I am not saying that a world like this could come to be but to think of a world with out choice woule be terrible. I am so glad that Jonah did something about it and changed it for every one.

Potential Problem:
The only problem that I have is that at times I became angry with this book because they were so simple minded when they got mad at their son for asking if they loved him. Or when they just wrote the part about the dad killing the baby as no big deal it truely broke me heart that he had no idea what he was doing and how he just threw it away. The problem is that they didn't know any different so sometime I feel like they were instructed to be this way and that just make me angry.

Recommendations:
This would be a great book for all. I know that I recommended to class mates after I read it so that i could get their feed back on what they thought about the book. This book makes you asking alot of questions about the story and the book. This would be great for an english class to get all different feed back from students.

The Wandering of Odysseus

Title: The Wandering of Odysseus

Author: Rosemary Sutcliff

Publishing Information: Laurel-Leaf

Number of pages:131

Genre: Fairy Tale-Epic

Summary of Plot
This is a story about Odysseus and his adventures. He starts this book just after finishing his arm with Troy. He spend the whole book trying to work his way back to his homeland of Ithaca. To start of his adventure he incounters a cyclops who tries and eat all of his men. Odysseus uses his wit to get out of that one by holding on to the bottom of a sheep so that the cyclops would not know that they are excaping. That is when the really story starts. Odysseus has to blind the cyclops in his attempts to get away. So once he does that he makes Lord Poseidon made by blinding one of his sons. This makes his trip back to Ithaca that much harder. He encounters many different trouble and comes into many different Gods but he finally makes his way home just to see there are man lining up awaiting to here news of his death so that they can marry his wife. So Odysseus pretends to be a begger and shows up all of the men at the palace. Then he shows himself but some people don't believe him so he has to show a scar on his thigh for people to know its him. After that he kills all of the men trying to get is wife and then goes on with his life.

My reaction to the book:
This book was a little dry for me. Once I was really getting into the story of the chapter it would end and go on to a different chapter and a new story so there wasn't much meat to it. They would explain the history and where he was and then they would start to get into a conflict and then in two seconds it was over and he was moving on to a different island or problem. There was just not enough story line for my liking.

Potential Problems:
The only problem that I can see is that it would not attract to much interest in the book. It would be to dry for people to enjoy it and to see the history of it all

Recommendations:
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy history.

Thump Quack, Moo

Title: Thump Quack, Moo

Author: Doreen Cronin

Publishing Information: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 29

Genre: Picture book

Summary: Farmer Brown is designing a Statue of Liberty Corn Maze. He is trying to make is property look good. He lets the chickens use hammers, he lets the cow use paint and he let duck build a ticket booth. While the mice watch the weather. Farmer Brown plans out his corn maze perfectly. He works on it all day and is getting really excited. Turns out the chickens don't know how to use hammers and the cows can't be trusted with paint. He doesn't care. He climbs in to a hot air balloon to see his master piece. Come to find out that after Farmer Brown went to bed Duck would go out and change the Statue of Liberty to look like him. Farmer Brown was not happy.

Reaction to the book: That duck is crazy! What a funny book and will the farmer ever realize how much trouble duck is. This is a funny book full of adventure for duck at least. This was a fun book full of good facial drawing on the characters so you can catch what they are really feeling just by looking at them.

Problems : NONE

Recommendations: For those who love to be sneaky. For those that find it fun to play jokes on other people. For those that are interested in farms and the different animals that live there. This book is a fun easy read that many children will enjoy following duck on his plan to make Farmer Brown unhappy.

Diary Of A Spider

Title: Diary of a Spider

Author: Doreen Cronin

Publishing: Joanna Cotler Books

Number of Pages: 32

Genre: Picture book

Summary: This is a book about what it is like to be a spider. It talks about how he goes to school and learn that spiders are not insects. You learn that he best friend is a fly. It goes day be day over his life and explaining different things that he did. Also it talks about his grandpa. He talks about he can't have fly come over to play at his house because he gets stuck in the web.

Reaction: This book was really funny. He was doing things that humans would do, like going to the park and not being able to play on the toys cause he was to small. Also how he goes over to spend the night at a friends house and they are eating something that he doesn't like. This was just a funny book full of funny diary entry that just make you laugh. Also the pictures are really fun and really help tell and describe the story that is being written. They are well done and you can always find something to laugh at some where in the pictures.

Potential Problems: None

Recommendation: I would recommend this for those trying to urge their kids to keep a journal and she it to them how fun it can be. Also it would be a great writing tool with the journal to have children read this and want to write their own diary for them selves and to share with other people. It is a fun book that gives you fun story and also helps you to understand spider. For instance did any one know that a spider looses his skin?

Ginerbread Friends

Title: Gingerbread Friends

Author: Jan Brett

Publishing Information: G.P. Putnam's Son

Number of Pages:25

Genre: Picture Book

Summary: The Gingerbread baby was so sad and lonely when his friend Mattie went out to play. He was getting so lonely so he went into to town to look for some friends. He went into a bakery to look for some friends. But all of the people he asked were not alive and could not be his friends. He asked many characters and none of them answered. Then to his surprised he saw a door his size he went in to fall asleep. Come to find out a mouse lived there and was eating his buttons! He then tried to run away and the bakery saw the mouse chasing him and wanted them out of the story and then the Gingerbread man made it to his rooster and got him home. When he got home he had discovered that Mattie had spend the whole day making him a Gingerbread family for him to play with.

Reaction To the book: My Goodness! Those pictures were amazing. It was like she was telling two stories at once. You have the main story that is happening on the page but if you look to the side you can see what his friend Mattie is doing at home while he is away. The pictures were incredible description and so fun to look at. Everything that she drew she stood out and you just could not help but look at all the things that are being shown in the pictures. They look to live like that you almost have to touch the book to see if they are real.

Problems: None

Recommendations: Any one that loves to look at pictures. Loves a fun story full of adventure. Some one that can see a great drawing when they see it and will know what an incredible amount of time was taken to draw this book.

Ella Sarah Gets Dressed

Title: Ella Sarah Gets Dressed

Author: Margaret Chodos-Irvine

Publishing Information: Hardcourt, Inc

Number of Pages: 29

Genre: Picture Book

Summary: This is a book about a little girl named Elle Sarah who doesn't know what to wear she thinks that she wants to wear this crazy outfit, but her parents and her sister try and talk her out of it. They offer clothing they think that she would like even though they are basically the same clothes that they are wearing but Elle Sarah doesn't want to wear their clothes. So she goes back to her original plan of wearing her pink polka dot pants, her orange and green flower dress, her purple and blue striped socks, her yellow shoes and her red hat. She put that outfit on and loved it. Her parents thought that it was a little to much but then the door bell rang and it was friend friends and they loved her outfit.

Reaction: This book was not my favorite. It had a fun story and it would be fun for a little kid that likes to pick out exciting clothes to wear. But the story was lacking. It was fun with the picture they captured the fun of her out fit really well with the different colors they used to show her out fit. One thing i did enjoy was that her cat was in every picture with her.

Potential Problem: The only problem that it would not keep the children attention that long.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to those with children that like to dress them selves. That like to wear the same thing over and over. Or those with children that like to wear clothes that don't match. Just let them be them and buy this book for them so they know that it is okay to wear what your feeling.

Cowlick

Title: Cowlick

Author: Christin Ditchfield

Publishing Information: Golden Book

Number of Pages: 32

Genre: Picture Book

Summary of the Plot:
Two little boys asleep in bed. Their hair flat to their head. The cow comes into the house. He sneaks into their room and gives them a Cowlick that makes their hair stick straight up. They can't do anything to fix it.

Reaction: My reaction to this book was that the pictures were better then the story. The pictures were amazing they are well done and they make the story and you can't help and look at the pages long after you have already read the story because of how fun the pictures are and all the fun colors that come with them.

Potential Problems: NONE

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to young children. They will love these pictures and enjoy the story and think that it is silly that a cow did this to the children and they will be able to understand just by looking at the pictures.

Number The Stars

Title: Number the Stars

Author: Lois Lowry

Publishing Information: Houghton Mifflin Company

Number of Pages: 132

Genre: Children Novel

Summary of the Plot:
This story takes place in Denmark during the World War when the Nazi were taking over trying to rid the world of the Jewish people. There was a family with a little girl named Annemarie that is the narrator of this book. Where she describe the story of when her family saved their close friends the Rosen from the solidars of taken them away because they were Jewish. They took the Rosen girl Ellen in as their own to hide her from the soldiers. Then they went to their uncles and helpped the Rosen family hide in a boat that was run by Annemarie uncle to have them shipped over to Sweden were they would be safe from the Nazi Police.

Your reaction to the book:
This book was a touching story about a family risking thier lives for their friends to help them get away from the Nazi police. It was a really good book. Well written and very detailed so you were never lost in the book. This book was an amazing story that was touching cause in the end you realize that some of the information was true about the family and what they did for that family. I was amazing by the courage that this family displayed and with hesitation they knew what needed to be done and did everything that they could to help them.

Potential Problems: I don't see any problems except that if some one reading this book didnt know about the World War it might be helpful to give some history of what was happening at that time.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to all readers. This is a sad part of histroy but it is something that people need to learn about and by reading this book it will give them some idea of what it was like to live in that era and what it was like to be Jewish during that time and what they had to deal with. This is a good book for young readers the wording is not bad at all and it is interesting to read it will keep you wanting more.

Knuffle Bunny Too

Title: Knuffle Bunny Too

Author: Mo Willems

Publishing: Hyperion Books For Children/ New York

Number of Pages: 41

Genre: Picture Book

Summary of Plot: It's time for Trixie to go to school. She is so excited because today she is going to share her Knuffle Bunny. She got to school and found out the Sonja had a knuffle bunny just like she did. They did not enjoy it. They fought the whole day until the teacher took the bunnies away. After the teacher gave the bunnies back they went home and had dinner then went to bed then in the middle of night they realized that they had the wrong bunnies. So they made thier daddys meet to switch the bunnies in the middle of the night. And after that they became best friends.

Reaction to the Book: I enjoy this book so much because of the different type of pictures that they used they used photographic as a back round and drew in the character. It made it real fun to find out where the pictures are from and where they are located. Looking at the photos made this book that much more exciting to read and enjoy.

Potential Problems: NONE!

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to all those beginning readers or children that are beginning to read by them selves they will love this book and all the humor that it has in it. They will enjoy the different pictures and characters that they will meet into this book.

I Will Surprise My Friend

Title: I Will Surprise My Friend

Author Mo Willems

Publishing: Hyperion Books for Children/New York

Number of Pages: 57

Genre: Picture Book

Summary of Plot: Piggie And Gerald saw a friend scarying his friend. They thought it would be fun to do. So they decided to try it out. So Piggie went one way and Gerald went the other and they hide behind the same rock waiting for the other person. And when they finally decided to come out they scary each other. They decided it was to much work so next time they are going to play tag next time.

Reaction: This book is full of fun jokes. It is full of fun playful friendship. The pictures are amazing and simple and they just make you laugh. These pictures are so simple it was just a white back drop but the real story comes from the characters faces and actions. This is books is just a fun book. It makes you laugh just by looking at the characters and the faces that they make.

Recommendation: I would recommand this to those young and old looking for a laugh. It doesn't matter what age you are if you enjoying reading then this book with make you laugh and you will enjoy every minute of it.

Pigs Make Me Sneeze

Title: Pigs Make Me Sneeze

Author Mo Willems

Publishing: Hyperion Books For Children/New York

Number of Pages:57

Genre:Picture Books

Summary of Plot
Gerald has a cold and the only time he sneezes if when he is will piggie. So he thinks that piggie is making him sneeze. This makes him sad. He goes to see the cat doctor. He sneezes again when he is around the cat. The Dr. Cat tells him that he has a cold. He goes to tell piggie he does not sneeze because of him and piggie now has a cold.

Reaction: This book is hilarous. It is full of jokes and laughter. The pages and the drawings are amazing. They really capture the characters face and what they are feeling it shows their emotions. The characters come to life and you truely believe that they become friends with the reader.

Potential Problem: This book only problem is that your sides will hurt after from laughing

Recommendations: I would recommend this to all beginning readers the words are not that advanced and they will be able to read it and be able to get the humor from the story.

The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publishing:Harper Collins Publishers 2008

Number of Pages:307

Genre: Children's Book

Summary: This is a story about a boy named Nobody Owens who they call Bod for short. His family was killed and this mother asked the people in the graveyard of Old Town to look out for him and raise him. So they graveyard folks vote on it and decided to raise the boy in the graveyard. He is given the Freedom of the Graveyard. Where he is aloud to travel to where he wants to go and is taught to do special powers such as going into peoples dreams and making them sense fear. He grows up and learns from the people of the grave yard but wants more so he is allowed to go to school but he used his powers to hide from every one to me there but mostly a memory for every one. Over the book it takes about the man Jack who killed Bods family but how he gets away. It goes on to tell that The man jack is still looking for him and if he leaves the grave yard then the man jack will be able to find him.

Reaction: My first reaction was that this book is a little dark for children to be reading for the fact only that it starts out with a man coming to kill a family and then the boy is raised in a grave yard. This is was a little much to handle and to take in but once you get more into the story you start to enjoy the book a lot more then you thought you would.

Problems: I think the only problem it is a little dark for younger children I don't think they will have the concept to realize that this is not really happening and it might freak them out by reading this book. The reading level is to low to give to adults but I think that if the children are mature then they will understand it more.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to adults to read before giving it to their children. It is a hit and miss book. I feel like parents should read it before allowing their children to read just so they can see if the kids would be mature enough to read it. I enjoyed this book alot but I would have to inquire about the child reading it before recommended it.

The Eleventh Hour

Title: The Eleventh Hour

Author: Graeme Base

Publishing Information: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 1993

Level: Five years and older

Number of Pages: 31

Genre:Picture Book

Summary: Horace is turning eleven and he is having a birthday party and has invited eleven of his friends to come and dress up and play eleven games. Horace spends so much time preparing this delicious meal, but they can not eat until eleven o clock after they have played all of the different games. While playing different games the food starts to disappear. Who steals the food but is still able to appear in the book on every page?

Reaction: What an incredibly fun book! This book was filled with imagination and critical thinking. It has messages written in every page. It has different animals hidden for the readers to find. This was a fun book to read that is one you can not take lightly it is in depth but in a fun way that makes others excited to read it.

Problems:None

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to all readers young and old. This is one that will be fun for every one that reads it. It is all so a book you can experience with many different people with you that you can all enjoy trying to find out who stole the dinner while the party was going on. This is amazing read that really makes you stop and enjoy the pictures and the colors of the pages that you are reading.

Mouse Paint

Title:Mouse Paint

Author Ellen Stoll Walsh

Publishing Information: Harcourt Brace & Company

Level:Preschool and below

Pages:27

Genre: Picture Book

Summary: These three mice are trying to hide from a cat by staying against a white piece of paper. While the cat was asleep they found three jars of paint, red,yellow and blue. Each mouse got into the jar of paint and turned its self a different color. From there they began to mix the colors around so that they could make different colors. Then they washed them selves of so that they could still hide from the cat.

My reaction: My reaction was what a fun way to learn your colors. Also what a fun way to learn what colors make what and they did it all my accident so it was a great way to inspire experimenting with colors. This book was deminstrated really well by having most of the story be in the pictures with only so many words to describe what was happening in them.

Potential Problems:None

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to all children that are learning their colors. Its a great way of showing off the primary colors and it makes them want to explore other colors and what they could make with their imagination.

Getting Started

Dear Reader
Welcome! My name is Sam. I am enrolled in Children Literature. I have set up this blog to collect my idea, reaction and summaries of the books that I am going to be reading this term for class. It will be a wide range of books, from picture books to children novel. By then end I should have 59 reactions to this wide range of books. Wish me luck as I start on this adventure and I hope you enjoy the different reactions to all the different books.