The Misfits- part one

The Misfits by James Howe is a chapter book that I have read previously in my 5th grade class; however, I am so happy I got the opportunity to read it again. The first time I was read this book I did not truly listen to the words or fully understand what was going on. After reading the first part of the book again, I began to get a feel for what I would be taking out of the book. One major idea that has crossed my mind as I read the book was that it is important to accept people for who they are. Everybody is going to have different physical looks, thoughts, preferences, etc., and that is just one aspect that makes that person special. A few people who I believe should be a role model of acceptance are children's parents. In the story so far Joe's parents are overly accepting of who he is. They do not question why he played dress up with his mom's clothes, or why he played with dolls, or why he paints his pinky finger unique colors. Joe knows they probably assume he is gay, but do not pressure him to come out, nor pressure him to be more "manly". Unconditional acceptance from parents is important and especially when a child is in middle school. I remember being in middle school and the horrible feelings that go along with it. When I was in 6th grade I remember being unusually tall for my age. Since boys at this age are very immature, they would always call me names that would hurt my feelings. At times I felt like I was an outsider, and just wished to be average height like everyone else. Though I would initially react by being unhappy with myself, I was lucky to have parents that encouraged me to be happy with who I was. My parents reassured me that it is good to be different, and that everyone has some quality about them that is different, it just was not as apparent as my height. At times it was hard to hear what my parents were saying because the ridiculing did not go away, but it felt good to know that I had people in my life that love me. Moreover, it makes me happy to see that the characters in the book have accepting parents because when it comes down to it, that is the opinion that usually matters the most.

We Just Moved

We Just Moved by Stephen Krensky was a very enjoyable book to read because the words and the illustrations in the book tell two separate stories. The words are telling a simple story about a little boy moving to a new town, and getting adjusted to his new house, friends, and neighborhood. The illustrations are telling a story about a little bout moving from a castle to an even bigger castle. He has to get used to having an alligator as a pet, knight armor as toys, playing games on horses, fairy tale characters as friends, and secret hiding places in his basement. I think this is a great book for kids to relate to when they are moving to a new town. Though the pictures in the book are not going to be something kids are experiencing, I think they symbolize how different kids perceive the new town they just moved to. The fairytale like scene the boy sets up reminds me of how different I thought the town of Mundelein, Illinois was when I moved there from West Des Moines, Iowa. I was so content with my life in Iowa, so when I had to change every aspect of my life, it almost did feel like I was imagining it like a fairytale. In my new class room, all of the students were more advanced in math than I was. I felt like long division was foreign to me. They also participated in games at recess that I never heard of such as Butts Up. The friends I would meet did not remind of my friends from Iowa. And the toys that were popular in Iowa like beanie babies were definitely not popular in Illinois. Even though the new parts of my life I was being introduced to were not scenes from a fairytale, I felt like they were because they were so foreign to me.

Mr. Noisy

Mr. Noisy by Rozanne Lanczak is about an old man that is well known in his neighborhood. He is known by his tendencies to make a large amount of noise when is walking, driving, dancing, talking, and singing, and riding his bike. Someone in his community tells him to be quiet, so Mr. Noisy stops making his regular amount of loud noise. This was apart of who he was, so it seems he becomes sad when he is told to stop. His town misses his cheerful personality, and realizes the noise is not that bad. Mr. Noisy eventually goes back to being his old loud self at the end. The message that stuck out to me in this story is that you can try to change someone, but it may result in making them unhappy. Sometimes people are content with the way they are. I can relate to this message with an experience I had with my friend freshman year. I was good friends with this girl from my hometown. As soon as we went to college together, I realized we were a lot more different from each other than I thought. My goal in college was to concentrate on my studies, and excel in school; however, I was aware that college is a wonderful experience besides just school. I wanted to make an effort to meet great friends, go to university events, and just take advantage of what Iowa offers. I figured my friend had the same goals in mind, but I ended up being upset when she did not make time for anything but school. Freshman year I tried to change her by convincing her to be more social and get involved in things I was doing with my new friends. I was quite bitter when she was not interested in things I was doing. After a year I have finally realized that not everyone is going to have the same priorities. I realized you can try to change someone, but they ultimately will not be happy. I am happy my friend stayed strong and kept her priorities straight because if she changed for me, she would probably be very unhappy now.

Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy

The picture book Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy by Marc Brown is a great book for beginner readers to practice reading. The main point to this book is that D.W. looks up to her older brother Arthur and wants to be just like him. He losses his first tooth and the tooth fairy comes, so she wants the same thing to happen to her. She is too young to naturally loose a tooth, so she goes to great measures to find an animal tooth from the museum and hope that the tooth fairy will still come. Being the great brother Arthur is, he secretly puts a dollar under D.W.'s bed so she thinks the tooth fairy came. The idea of wanting to be just like your older sibling seems like a quality of many younger siblings, including me. I have a sister who is two years older than me named Beth. When we were little kids I wanted to take part in everything that she did. When she was in 4th grade she got really interested in the Goosebump books by R.L. Stine. I would hear her constantly talking about these books with her friends and raving how scary they were to read. Even though I was in 2nd grade, I wanted to read these chapter books so bad because I was jealous my sister and all her friends were bragging about them. I decided for my next book report to steal a Goosebump book from my sisters room, read it, and do a book report on it. Luckily, in 2nd grade you do not get letter grades, or I probably would have got an F on my book report. My teacher pulled me aside and talked to me about picking books to read that fit my current reading level. Since then, I have realized I may not be ready to do everything my sister is doing just like D.W. was not ready to do what Arthur was doing.

Going to the Firehouse

Going to the Firehouse by Mercer Mayer is a short picture book about a class going to visit a firehouse. The little boy is so excited to see the firehouse because when he gets older he wants to be a firefighter as well. The kids in the class get a first hand look at the dog at the firehouse, the ladder, the firefighter pole, the fire engine, and the hose. The idea of having a class of young children visit a fire station is a great idea. I work at a preschool and we have had a few fireman actually come to the school and give a presentation on fires. Field trips or presentations likes these are so beneficial for young children. The class I work with consists of 3 year olds. I do not think they actually understand the whole concept of fires, and what firefighters do. I even think the kids were slightly scared of the firefighters at the beginning because they arrived in their full firefighting gear. As they began their presentation, they slowly took off their gear and explained the significance of each article of clothing. By the end of the presentation they were in a normal set of clothes. I think the process of taking off their uniform showed the students that the firefighters are people to turn to when in need of help, but not too fear them in their uniform. be They are actually normal people underneath their scary outfit. The kids were able to touch all of the articles of the uniform. The firefighters also modeled what to do if they were on fire, and had a student come up and model it as well. By the end of the presentation I believe these kids were able to grasp how important firefighters are, and not to fear them if they see them in a real emergency. I was so thankful that these students got a personal experience with a firefighter in a positive setting, because usually kids will never get to talk to them unless there is an emergency.

Best Friends Wear Pink Tutus

Best Friends Wear Pink Tutus by Sheri Brownrigg is a picture book about two best friends. These girls are in ballet together and love wearing their pink tutus everywhere. They even wear it when they are at school, roller skating, or going shopping. These two girls have such a close bond, but they almost let something pity like a lead role in the Nutcracker get in the middle of their friendship. At the end of the book they realize what is more important to them, and both decide to be the snowflakes in the play. This role works best for them because they get to be friends again, and even wear their pink tutus. The idea from the book of not letting something unimportant get in the way of a wonderful friendship reminds me of a time in my life. My best friend Jenny and I have been best friends for quite awhile. Our friendship has strongly developed as we began high school and realized we have so many things in common. Whether it was going to Starbucks on Saturday afternoons, supporting each other at a cheerleading or dance competitions, baking at each other's houses, traveling to her step dad's house in South Carolina, or going on a cruise with my family senior year, we have had the best of times together. Jenny is someone I know I was going to stay best friends with for the rest of my life. When it was time for us to decide what college we were going to be attending, I was confused how we would stay so close when she would be at Colorado State and continue to live in Colorado with her dad in the summers, while I would be at the University of Iowa and be back to Illinois for the summers. During our freshman year of college we could have let distance dissolve our friendship. We both were aware of how easy it would be to slowly fade out contact with each other. But just like the little girls in the book, we did not want to let something get in the middle of such a strong relationship. We made sure to talk on the phone at least once a week. Just talking on the phone we knew was not going to be enough, so we would send each other small packages just to remind the other that we were thinking of them. I even had a nice enough dad to let Jenny stay with us over the summers so we could spend time doing the things we love together. We both came to the conclusion that it is not worth letting something get in the middle of such a wonderful friendship.

Love that Dog

Love that Dog by Sharon Creech was one of the most interesting novels I have ever read. The whole story is written in poem form. Though it is a children's novel, I believe there are many underlying themes that can pertain to an adult's life as well. A few of the messages I got from the book were that there should not be a certain gender role expectation that girls or boys feel they should follow. Also, that there are wonderful resources such as poetry writing that can help alleviate pain. I find it ironic because these two messages that spoke to me in this novel were two of the messages I believe my senior year AP Literature teacher, Mr. Jordan. wanted us to take out of his class. Mr. Jordan was an excellent teacher who first introduced these messages to me in depth. Mr. Jordan wanted us to be aware of gender role expectations, so we read and analyzed The Doll House. I am so thankful that I was apart of such meaningful conversation about gender role expectation because that is an issue I think people subconsciously do, but can ultimately have negative consequences. The knowledge I have learned about gender role expectation is something I want to make sure I practice in my class room as a future teacher. I want my kids to be aware that it is ok for boys to enjoy writing and put emotion into it, or for girls to enjoy science fiction books. Furthermore, Mr. Jordan did an excellent job exemplifying how writing can be therapeutic. He even had us do some writings whether it was prose or poetry about something that has caused us pain. I remember that year growing apart from my best friend. I felt confused and upset a lot of my senior year because I felt like there was some part of me missing. The writing activities Mr. Jordan had us do help me release my emotions. Though, I was not able to solve my problem, it was soothing to write about it, just like the little boy in Love that Dog wrote about his dog Sky dieing.

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together

The fairy tale addition of You Read to Me, I'll Read to You is a spruced up version of several well known fairy tales. The unique part of this book is that it is meant to read with another person. There are two different characters supposed to be reading marked by different colors. The middle column is for the characters to read together. This style of book is an exciting approach to reading. It also encourages children to read with someone which is important because it shows the child that friends or family members value reading. Also, at the end of each short fairy tale story it has the two characters resolving their initial problem, and reading with each other the fairy tale book they are developed from. This book is a creative way to get struggling children interested in reading. This book demonstrates that reading does not have to be the typical words on a page with a picture. Reading is found in a wide range of material such as: picture books, magazines, poems, graphic novels, chapter books, wordless books, brochures, internet websites, etc. As a child I enjoyed reading, but at times I would get bored with it. My parents bought me a few Disney books that had sound applications on the side panel. The sounds were used to help tell the story. I thought this was a very clever idea for my parents to buy for me. When I was little I never thought I was reading, I had so much fun with the sounds that I thought of the book more as a toy. Creative books like my Disney books or the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series are excellent reading sources that can help make reading fun for children.

In the Night Kitchen

In the Night Kitchen is a very clever story written by Maurice Sendak, the famous author who wrote the book we all love, Where the Wild Things Are. This story is about a little boy, Mickey who dreams that he flies through the air naked into the kitchen where bakers are making a cake. They make a Micky Cake for Mickey, but they realize they do not have milk. Mickey flies to the Milky Way and finds milk to pour into the cake. Then, he assumes there is cake in the morning because he helped the bakers make it. This imaginative story reminds me of a book that I would have loved as a little girl, and not because I thought it was funny or silly. I know I would have loved this book because it references baking. Since I can remember, I have had a strong passion for baking. I remember on my 4th or 5th birthday getting an easy bake oven. My sister and I had a blast making and eating the individual baked goods. We were so proud that we were able to bake because we always thought of it is a grown up job. I began to love baking so much that my mom signed me up for a baking class for 5 year olds. I even would check out children's cook books at the library, and bake with my mom. Till this day I still enjoy baking with my mom and sister. It is a hobby we love to do, and I feel it has brought my family closer together.

Picasso and Minou

Picasso and Minou by P.I. Maltbie is an excellent book based off of Pablo Picasso's true life story. The book is about Pablo Picasso originally only able to paint in blue, sad colors because he is depressed from losing a good friend. His paintings were so sad and gloomy that no one wanted to buy them, but Picasso could not paint anything else. All his artist friends kept telling Picasso to just paint something happy, and his artwork would sell. Picasso was not able to paint happy things because he had no inspiration. His cat, Minou introduces him to a happy, generous circus that share their food and bring joy to Picasso. Picasso is so thankful that he is inspired by the cat and circus to paint warmer, happier paintings using reds and pinks. This book is such an excellent education tool because it tells a great story while revealing many true facts about Pablo Picasso, such as his blue and rose period. The meaning behind this book seems to be that you cannot do something you are not inspired by just because other people want you to do it. I feel like this theme has been woven through out my life in college. I feel as if friends, family friends, and even the media has influenced me to study a major that will produce a plentiful salary for me. Though it is wonderful to feel comfortable with money, and not have to stress about budgeting, it is not worth it if you are unhappy with your career. I chose to study elementary education because I have found a passion for it. I have experienced a wonderful teacher that has inspired me to become a teacher. I look forward in the future to making an impact in my student's life, and maybe even inspiring them to be a teacher as well. I am truly excited about this field of study, and I morally believe I should not change my major just because the influence of others.

The Magic School Bus At the Waterworks

The book At the Waterworks from the series The Magic School Bus written by Joanna Cole is a fun educational, science picture book. The stories from The Magic School Bus series are about a elementary class that Mrs. Frizzle teaches. Mrs. Frizzle is a very strange teacher that teaches her class about science in very interesting ways. In this particular book she brings her students on an imaginary trip through the water works. Though these trips are imaginary, I think the goal of these series is to show that science is truly an exciting subject, and can be taught in many unique ways that students will enjoy. Mrs. Frizzle has always reminded me of my 5th grade teacher Mr. Gange. Though we never went on crazy trips through the water works or the human body, he still developed science lessons that were very unique and a blast for all the students to be involved in. He first off incorporated science in very simple ways like covering his desk with science gadgets that we were allowed to play with during indoor recess. Also, when we were learning about how to take good observations, we got to make and play with a substance called ooblick. I always will remember how to take good observations because playing with the ooblick has stuck in my mind. Mr. Gange developed lessons with the goal of teaching his students, but also for us to explore and have fun. One other major experience with Mr. Gange that reminds me of Mrs. Frizzle is our field trip we took to a children's museum. We were learning about the organs of the human body in the class, so we went to a museum that had a bunch of replicas of the human heart. There were mazes, puzzles, jungle gyms, and many more apparatuses children could first hand experience that represented the human heart. This experience was one of my favorite field trips, and I even felt like I learned something when I left.

The New Girl

The New Girl by Jacqui Robins is a wonderful picture book that explains a feeling that I believe is common to almost anyone. The book begins with a girl named Shakeeta going to her first day at a brand new school. The teacher explains to her class that they should make Shakeeta feel at home. The problem is none of the students go out of their way to try and be Shakeeta's friend. The kids make fun of her name, do not show her around the school, and even do not include her in their game of soccer which proceeds to make her cry. There is one little girl named Mia who wants to reach out and be her friend, but she does not know how to go about starting a friendship. She realizes Shakeeta has an iguana, and Mia is interested in iguanas as well. Mia uses that common interest to talk to Shakeeta and they become great friends. The feeling Shakeeta had of not belonging is a common feeling many people experience, and not just as a elementary school student. My first few weeks at the University of Iowa remind me of a difficult time when I truly felt like I did not belong. I joined a sorority the first week of college. There were a group of girls from my dorm that I immediately starting hanging out with because it was conveinent since we were in the same sorority, and we lived so close. These girls were very nice; however, i felt as if I had nothing in common with them. I began to feel left out and that I did not belong. All I could think about is there is no reason to force a friendship with people you do not feel comfortable with, and cannot be yourself. A few days after I was convinced I did not belong with the group of girls, and maybe not even at the University, one of my best friends now came to my dorm room and introduced herself to me. She said her name was Abby and was going to watch Desperate Housewives, and wanted to see if I would watch it with her. I realized it was ok not to be best friends with everyone in my sorority, and was able to develop a great group of friends with Abby. Abby and my friendship reminds me of Mia and Shakeeta's friendship. We both found a common interest, and became great friends ever since!

Junie B., First Grader Toothless Wonder

Junie B., First Grader Toothless Wonder written by Barbra Park is a contemporary realistic fiction chapter book. The book was about Junie B. Jones loosing her first top tooth and all the worries that went along with it. She was really excited to be the first person in her class to loose her tooth, but then she worries she will look crazy or a totally different person and people were make fun of her. She also is confused who the tooth fairy is, what she does with the teeth, and why. Reading this book reminded me that at times people may wish we were young again, but I think we forget that young children still have worries. As adults we may think children's worries are petty, but thinking back to being a child, children what is going on is the worst thing in the world. I remember as a child in elementary school I use to worry if I had the latest toy that was popular. Though this may sound like it is not important, kids can be very rude when you do not fit in even when you are young. I felt when I was young, there would be some new toy that was the "cool thing" every month and it was very hard to keep up. It went from giga pets, to pogs and slammers, to gameboy nintendos. I remember the feelings when all your classmates have the toy, and are all talking about it, and you begin to feel very left out. Overall, though Junie B. Jones books are directed towards 2nd-4th graders, I think it is very simple for any age person to relate to this book.

I Miss you Everyday

I Miss You Everyday by Simms Taback is a very creative way to show how a little girl misses someone she loves so much. She never says who she actually misses which I think makes the story very unique because a child can read the book and be able to relate to the story. Though this story is about a little girl missing somebody, it reminded me of how much I missed my friends from home when I first went to college. It was very exciting to meet new people, and create new memories with friends, but I still felt there was something missing. I have such a close bond with my high school girl friends, and it was very hard to separate when we all went to different colleges. There is a unique comfortability level as well being with friends who know you so well. Since we all missed each other so much, we decided to set up an "I miss you package". We had a list with all seven of our names on it. The first person started and would send a package to anyone on the list and cross their name off. Then that person would send a package to someone else on the list, and it kept going till everyone received a package. This was a great way to keep in touch and show our appreciation for each other. The package was exciting because we had to include something that represented our new college, a favorite candy, and something that represented the other person. It was so exciting to finally get the package in the mail and see what we got. Overall, if you are young are old there will always be a time when you miss someone, and sometimes it helps to be creative.

We Wanted You

We Wanted You by Liz Rosenberg is a story told by a mom and dad telling their child about the adoption process and how much they wanted their baby, and how much they still do. Though I have never experienced the adoption process, this book reminds me that it is so important for parents to remind their children how much they love them. And they also need to show they love them. Just because a child was not adopted, does not mean that they will automatically feel loved. As a child and till this day, my parents have done a great job of displaying love for me. They make me feel that their love is unconditional. They want me to set high goals and succeed in everything I do; however, they do not put pressure on me when I make mistakes. They set limits and rules for me to show that they care about my safety and my life in general. They are involved in my life in every way they can. When I was younger my mom was a room parent in elementary school, my parents have been to every cheerleading, gymnastics, or dance competition I have ever been in, and they now come to visit me at college as often as possible. They show their love by being invested in my life. I know I would not have developed into such a confident, determined, loving person if they have no shown love to me.

Before you were Mine

Before you were Mine by Maribeth Boelts is a book that has a wonderful message. The story discusses what a little boy thinks happened to his puppy before he adopted him from an animal shelter. By having the boy discuss where his puppy came from, it explains to little kids reading the book that it is a good to adopt animals from shelters. The book explains that adopted dogs may have had a family before that abused them, not given them enough food, or enough love. Adopting a dog is such a great thing to do as well because many shelters have a kill policy if the shelter gets over populated. Adopting a dog is something my family has actually experienced, and we are so thankful we did. When I was two years old we adopted an Alaskan Malamute named Lady. When we got her she was two years old as well, and not trained at all. She was very protective of herself because she was abused as a puppy. It was apparent she was not given any love by her previous owners because she was not a friendly dog. Though this sounds like a horrible, experience, it was not by any means. We took her into our home and showed her our warmth and love. Over a year she transformed into our best friend. Her character totally changed. We are so thankful we decided to adopt from an animal shelter because Lady could have lived her life as a grumpy dog, but instead she became loved by our family. She was happy, and she made us happy too.

Say Hello

Say Hello by Michael and Jack Foreman is a contemporary realistic fiction story book. This book is interesting to me because though there are only a few words on each page, the illustrations are still able to add to the story and make it more detailed. The illustrations are also done in what looks like crayon which gives the images texture. Furthermore, what I got out of this book was the concept of "pay it forward". This concept means that someone does a kind deed to you, and then you pass it on and do a kind deed to someone else in need. I saw this idea happening in the book with the dog and the little boy. The dog in the book was lonely, did not have a home, or any friends. Some children playing basketball took him in, and invited him to play with them on the playground, and the dog immediately looked grateful. Later we see a boy who feels lonely because he does not have anyone to play with. The dog goes over to the lonely boy with a red ball in his mouth, showing that he wants the lonely boy to play with them. The good deed is passed on. The concept of "pay it forward" reminds me of our pledge daughter system in my sorority. As a freshman you are matched with a sophomore so they can guide you through the year, make you feel comfortable at the university and the sorority, and to gain a new friend. When I was a freshman my pledge mom helped me find my classes on the first day of school, she would pick me up to eat meals at our sorority house, and and was there for me whenever I needed a friend. I was so thankful I had someone to help me, so I knew how important it was for me to be a great pledge mom as well. I wanted to pay the good deed that was done to me forward.

Witches Don't Do Backflips

Witches Don't do Backflips by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones is a part of the series The Adeventures of the Bailey School Kids. This chapter book is about the four students Eddie, Howie, Melody, and Liza. The adventure they encounter in this story is trying to figure out if their gymnastics teacher, Miss Brewbaker is a witch. Eddie explains at the beginning of the book that he does not want to go to gymnastics class, so it seems he finds any excuse to bash the class. When he sees his gymnastics teacher has a rather large nose, a black cat, and a broom he tries to convince all his friends she is a witch as well. Basically, Eddie is convinced Miss Brewbaker is someone she is not. As a young kid, I think this mistake is commonly made. Kids get caught up in stereotypes and assumptions, and they forget to see the good in a person. This incident happened to me when I was beginning 4th grade. In the summer before 4th grade we found out who our teacher was at an ice cream social. When I found out my teacher was Mr. A all my friends scared me and told me he was the scariest teacher. We all saw him crack apples in the lunch room with one hand, and chew chalk so I was terrified to be in his class. As the year began I was scared to raise my hand in class, or even go to his desk to ask questions. I ended up being a bit confused in the class because I let the stereotypes of Mr. A get to me. That is when I made myself ask him for help on a long division problem during math time. We began talking and I found out he is a very compassionate teacher, he just has some quirky behaviors. This book along with my 4th grade teacher teaches children that there are times you will think people are someone they are not; however, it is important to get to know someone, and not to automatically judge them.

The Top Job

The Top Job by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel is children's picture book about career day at a little girl's elementary school. All the students in the class are sharing the interesting jobs their parents have like jeweler, race car driver, and UFO hunter. The little girl is nervous to share what her father does because she is nervous all the students would not think it is exciting since he was just a handyman. As she begins to explain the light bulb changing adventure she went on with her dad, she realizes all the other students are really interested in her story. She learns there are exciting aspects in everyones job. Her dad's interesting aspect was changing the light bulb at the top of the Empire State Building. What I got out of this story is that people can find good in things they would never expect. An example of this in my life is when my grandfather passed away last year. Though it was horrible that he passed away, my family was able to find the positive in the situation. When my grandfather was alive, him and my grandmother hardly ever left their house. They were very stable with money, yet he never let my grandmother spend anything. They never went out to eat, they never traveled, and they especially never socialized with friends. Basically, they left the house just to see family occasionally. Since my grandfather has passed, my grandmother now travels with my family, has tried many new restaurants, and even is in a senior citizen aerobics class. It is very sad that he passed, but my grandmother is living a much healthier life.

Me and my Bike

Me and my Bike by Ander is a unique story about a boy who wishes for things he does not have like a bike. I would describe this story as unique because it has a few different main ideas happening throughout the book, but are not all connected. The boy is given a tea cup but is told by his grandfather it is a magic lamp that children can only wish on. The story further goes on to tell how the little boy wants a new bike and wishes for it from the magic lamp. He then talks about how he thinks his friends do not really like him, they just like to make fun of him. The boy later realizes that he rather just get a new set of crayons instead of a new bike. He uses his last wish to, "grow up fast, but not get too old soon". Though many of the ideas and events in the book do not really flow well together, I think it was done to show how the mind of a little kid thinks. As a young adult it is hard for me to relate to this book; however, the way the book is written reminds of the way I would think as a young girl. Little kids get stimulated by so many small little things. It is easy for them to get off track, get distracted, and change their mind quite frequently. The book is similar to how my mind would work if I was around age 5. A day in my life at age 5 would consist of me thinking about something really cool I saw on television advertised like the Doodle Bear. I would ask my mom for it all morning, but my obsession would totally change once I arrived at kindergarten. I would see that one of my friends had a Beanie Baby and my mind would be hooked on that. After thinking awhile about which Beanie Baby I would ask for when I got home, my teacher would say it is color time. My mind would then switch to drawing what me and my best friend were going to do that afternoon. My thoughts were never focused as a young girl, and that is why it seems to me that this book was written from the point of view of a young child.

Me and my Bike

Night of the Moon

The children's story Night of the Moon by Hena Khan is of the best children's stories I have read because it educated me about a Muslim holiday I knew nothing about. I believe the author was aware that many of the readers were not educated about the Muslim holidays, so she thoughtfully included a glossary of Muslim words in the back. The story introduced me to the holiday Ramadan and the phases of the moons that are apart of the holiday. The story explained that during the month of Ramadan adults fast during the day, and can only eat at sundown. I learned that the reasons for fasting were God, and self-discipline. Though I am not Muslim, nor celebrate Ramadan, the story reminded me of the holiday Yum Kippur from the Judaism religion. This holiday my family celebrates has many similarities to Ramadan. During Yum Kippur all adults are supposed to fast from sundown to sundown. The meaning behind fasting is to repent for forgiveness from God for all your sins you had that year. Both of the religions are taking part of a fasting to show some form of self-strength to God. At the end of both of the holidays there is a large feast celebrated with family. This book was overall interesting to me because it explains a holiday from a religion that many Americans may not practice, yet many people can probably relate to it in some unique way.

Granddad's fishing Buddy

The picture book, Granddad's Fishing Buddy by Mary Quigley is a uplifting book with beautiful watercolor pictures that brings me back to my childhood. This story is about a little girl her goes to stay at her grandparents house. She wakes up really early because she knows her grandpa wakes up early to go fishing. She begs him to take her with on his morning ritual. It is apparent the girl wants to go fishing with her grandpa because she wants to spend time with him, and not because she enjoys fishing. She is excited to do anything as long as its with her grandpa. This story reminds me when I was a little girl and wanted to do anything my dad, even if it meant golfing, which I knew i did not like. I would do anything with my dad because I looked up to him so much. I remember one time my dad took me to the driving range to hit golf balls. After we were done, my dad told me he was going to take me to get a smoothie because that is what he does every Saturday afternoon after he golfs. I felt so special that I got to take part in something my dad loves to do. Similarly, the girl in the book gets to meet her granddad's special friend the heron, and realizes the heron helps her granddad catch fish. It seems like the girl in the book is so excited to be apart of her granddad's ritual of fishing and spending time with the heron because she knows it is something her granddad loves to do as well.

Lessons from Mother Earth

Lessons from Mother Earth by Elaine McLeod and Colleen Wood is a great picture book that is very relevant to the situation currently going on in our world. This book is about a young girl named Tess going to visit her grandmother. Her grandmother wants to show her something she has never realized before, "her" garden. Tess thinks she is going to visit her grandmother's garden that is specifically hers, however; she realizes that the garden is actually apart of Mother Nature. The garden belongs to everyone. The grandmother teaches Tess lessons about taking care of Mother Nature, and it will take care of you. Though Tess was not initially aware of this wonderful gift, she is glad she finally realized it, and how to take care of it. This story reminds me of the lesson our world is slowly trying to grasp. The lesson that we need to take care of our precious world, our it soon may not be there to take care of us. This book is a great way to represent the Go Green movement that is become so popular throughout America. In the book the grandmother gives Tess small tips to care for the Earth like not trampling the bushes, or not picking too many berries. These tips from the book are similar to the tips that are given to all families from the Go Green campaign. For example, the Go Green campaign has explained important tips like using canvas grocery bags instead of plastic, using washable water bottles instead of plastic, carpooling, and using solar heat. Though we may not initially been aware of how precious our Earth is, we now are aware, and are on the right track like Tess of taking care of our gift.

Don't be my Valentine

The chapter book Don't be my Valentine by Joan M. Lexau is a great holiday book for Valentine's Day but is also a story with good meaning behind it. The book is about two different students who do not get along. A girl named Amy Lou is always bugging a student named Sam about things he does not do right. Sam gets annoyed with Amy Lou and is mean to her because he does not like Amy thinking she always has the correct answer for him. A good lesson that I can relate to from this book is that sometimes adult authority needs to get involved when children are arguing. The two students try to solve their problem regarding a mysterious valentine card, but end up getting in another fight just when the book is ending. This reminds me of when my sister and I would get in arguments when we were younger, my mom would always tell us you guys cannot come out of your room until you have solved your problem. We would pretend we would solve our problem just so we could go out and play. One time when we came out of our rooms with a "solution", we both started to play with dolls again, and my sister started to hit me because she was still bitter about our argument earlier. My mom finally realized that for my sister and I to get along she would have to talk out what went wrong, and ways we could fix our problem. She also realized sometimes it meant just giving us time to be apart for a little bit so we could cool down. I think the teacher in the book realized that she probably needed to help the students figure out a plan to get along, and not just let them solve it themselves.

Firefighters in the Dark

Firefighters in the Dark by Dshka Slater is a picture book that reminds me how important it is to have role models in your life to look up to. It is apparent in the book that the little girl really looks up to the firefighters who live right next to her house. I think she thinks of them as such admirable people so she imagines them saving people in extraordinary situations. They save princess from a castle that is on fire from a dragon; they save a boy who jumped to Pluto; and they even save the stars in the sky because they are on fire. This reminds me of when I was younger and I really looked up to my dad. As a young child I remember using my imagination and thinking that my dad could basically do anything. I love him so much and thought so highly of him that I remember thinking he could solve any problem I ever had. As a child I believe it is important to have a good mentor to look up to. It makes children feel loved and safe.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka is about the fairytale story The 3 Little Pigs accept it is told in the point of view of the wolf. This is a great book to read to children because most students are very familiar with the Three Little Pigs story, so they see this book as really funny. I personally enjoy this book as well because it is a great source for me to use in my future classroom to discuss how all kids do not have the same point of view. The story immensely changes from when we hear it in the perspective of the pigs, to when we hear it from the wolf. What we get out of the book is that not one specific story is correct, but that there are going to be many different outlooks on situations depending upon what different people have experienced. The pigs have grown up being taught that wolves are big and bad, and that is probably how they built their story even though it may not be 100% true. This story may be a good opener when we are talking about tough topics in the classroom like poverty, war, death, etc. These topics may be controversial, but they are issues teachers will need to discuss in an appropriate matter. The discussion with the students may have very diverse opinions depending upon what they have experienced. If a student had a mom or dad pass away in the war, they may have a very negative outlook on the war. This book may help students to not try and argue with students they did not agree with, but accept that there are many different perspectives to issues.

Jake the Philharmonic Dog

Jake the Philharmonic Dog is a picture book that I really enjoyed. I would highly recommend this book because it has a variety of usages. First off, I thought the illustrations by Marcin Baranski were beautiful. The illustrations had so much detail. The page when Richie and Jake are in front of the concert hall looks like a painting that should be hung at an art museum. Another usage for this book could be to teach children about different instruments and meanings of musical definitions. I really like how they labeled the brass, percussion, and woodwind instruments because that is something kids can learn about while listening to the story. Also, at the end of the book their is a list of musical words used in the book that you can refer to with your students if they are unfamiliar with the term. The last thing I really liked about this story was how it portrayed music. It used music as a soothing factor, and that is how I use music in my life as well. There is a point in the book when Jake the dog hears thunder and is terrified of it. He is so scared that he does not even want to play fetch or eat a biscuit. Richie his owner thinks of a brilliant idea to turn his CD on of a symphony playing and the dog immediately calms down and sways to the music. This reminds me of when I was in the recovery room in the hospital after I had ACL surgery. When I finally woke up I could not stop crying from the pain in my knee, the nausea feeling, and the lady next to me who was throwing up from her nausea. The family tried everything to get me to stop crying and the only thing that helped was when they started to sing to me. I listened to their soothing voices and I was able to calm down. This book and experiences in my life support the idea that music has a lot of power.

If you Take a Mouse to School

If you Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff is a great book geared towards preschool age children, even though I think any age person could enjoy this book. The mouse in this book is also the great mouse from the book If you Give a Mouse a Cookie and If you Take a Mouse to the Movies. This book basically explains that if you give this mouse in the book something like a lunch box, then it will ask for a sandwich, pencil, etc. The mouse in this story reminds me of the children I work with in my preschool/daycare. For example when we set out blocks for the children to play with, they are so excited to play with them, but then they will see other kids playing with dolls. The kids playing with the blocks will get distracted by the dolls and then ask for us to get dolls for them as well. Then one of our teachers in the class will be setting up an art project for the students to do and the kids will all get distracted by that, and will want to come play with the crafts. The young children are just like the mouse in the story. They are excited about little things, and have very short attention spans. Though it gets tiring to keep the kids interested in what they are doing, I believe it is a good thing that the kids want to keep playing with new toys. They are young and should be exploring their environment just like the mouse.

Miss Nelson is Missing!

The picture book Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard is familiar book to me that I have read many times through out elementary school. It seemed that the my younger elementary school teachers as well as my older elementary school teachers enjoyed reading this book to us because it reveals such a great message. The book tells a story of an elementary school class that are by far the worst behaved students. They are rude to their teacher, they do not listen, and they do not even do their lessons. Their teacher one day dresses up as a mean, strict, old teacher. She is so horrible that she is able to get the students t miss their "old" teacher Miss Nelson. When Miss Nelson comes back as her old self, the students are so excited to see her that they now are on their best behavior because they never want the horrible teacher to come back. The message I got out of this story is that you do not know how good you have it until you it is gone. This quote relates to my life as a college student. Until I was 18, I lived at home with my amazing parents; however, I do not think I knew how amazing they were until I left for college. My mom would do all of the chores around the house, make all of my appointments for me with doctors and dentists, and just be there to help me when ever I needed her or my dad. My parents were so generous to me, and at times I was just a moody teenager who would take advantage of her parents. Now when I am away at college and have to take responsibility for chores, appointments, etc. I truly miss how generous my parents were. When I make visits home for weekends, winter break, or summer I appreciate everything my parents do for me. It is sad that it takes something in your life to go missing for you to appreciate it, but it overall teaches a good lesson.