Picture Storybook Reviews

I am loving my children’s literature class because it is giving me a great opportunity to finally pick up some books that I haven’t read before. Every year around book fair time, I would have many students purchase beautiful books for our classroom. My classroom was filled with books that I always said I’d use for read-aloud, but I just never could get to them all. These three titles have been sitting pretty in my teacher box and I am so happy I pulled them out to read. The following titles are great examples of picture storybooks. They integrate text and illustrations beautifully and tell wonderful stories.

Chopsticks by the late Amy Krause Rosenthal is the cutest story about friendship. I had read her other title Spoon and this one was just as clever. It is a story about a pair of chopsticks that do everything together until one of the chopsticks breaks and needs time to rest. During their time apart, the chopsticks learn how to function on their own. The book sends a great message about standing out on your own but also sticking together. The illustrator does a wonderful job of creating humorous pictures that bring out the text on each page even more.

After a fellow classmate discussed the book Blackout by John Rocco, I remembered that I had it in my collection and had never read it. I am so glad I finally gave this book a deeper look. It is a Caldecott honor book that is a perfect example of a picture storybook. It is a very relatable story about how a family reacts after the power goes out on a summer night. No one in the family was able to use their technology and had to pull out board games and get outside, play, and enjoy the city lights. The author/illustrator in this book does a great job of using dark colors to show the blackout but highlights the main action on the page. This is the kind of book that if the text wasn’t there, you would still be able to understand the story.

I have also enjoyed reading books by Jon Klassen so I pulled the book The Dark. This book tells a great story about a boy who is afraid of the dark and how he faces his fear. The “dark” is written as a character and the boy actually talks to the dark. I think this book is so relatable to kids and does a great job modeling how kids can tackle their fears. Jon Klassen is definitely becoming a favorite illustrator of mine, and this books’ illustrations did not disappoint. He does a great job of showing the darkness and playing with the shadows. The boy's face was also detailed throughout showing his timid personality. I love, love, loved this story!

Caldecott Award - This is Not My Hat

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen won the Caldecott Medal in 2013 and then also won the British Kate Greenaway Medal for children’s book illustrations. The book is about a little fish who steals a tiny blue hat from a big fish. The little fish things he can get away with it and spends each page justifying his actions. He plans to hide in the tall plants but unfortunately for him, the big fish finds him. The reader never knows how the story ends exactly so it leaves a little to the imagination. It Is amazing how much suspense this book can bring with such simplicity of a storyline.

So, let’s talk pictures. Klassen’s pictures are what make this book which makes sense why it won the Caldecott. There are very few words on each page and the pictures are simple. Although the pictures are simple, they make you have to look very closely for details. By taking a close look, you will notice the clear signs of movements and emotions in the fish – the eyeballs of the little and big fish, the crab’s claw, the bubbles behind the fish. The changing eyes are my favorite part! The pictures even stay the same for three pages except for the eyes and this makes for huge engagement for students. The pictures on each page are so simple but yet these small changes make the book very intriguing and funny.

When reading the textbook, Literature and the Child, I learned about all of the artistic tools that illustrators use. I kept trying to figure out what made Klassen’s pictures so unique. At first, I considered his use of color. He sticks to the same muted colors throughout the entire book and creates all of his characters and scenes flat. Upon further research, I learned that Klassen uses computer-generated digital illustrations coupled with Chinese ink. (Galda 103)

I think this book would make a great read aloud because it helps students look closely at the pictures and make inferences. I can’t wait to use this with my students!

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson

When I scrolled through the list of award-winning books, I noticed Jacqueline Woodson's name appear multiple times. I have been a fan of her work for a while, but I have not gotten around to reading all of them. One of my favorite books I like to use in my classroom is Each Kindness. I think it helps students understand the power of their actions and how to treat everyone with respect. This book has won the Coretta Scott King Award and the Jane Addams Peace Award. Like all of Woodson's books, it sends a strong message of hope and change. It is now on my daughter's bookshelf in her nursery and I hope it also teaches her how to be kind to everyone because you may not get a second chance to.

Jacqueline Woodson is also the author of Show Way. This book won a Newbery Honor Medal, and I loved having the opportunity to read it this week. I wish I would have known about this book sooner! It is the perfect book to integrate with social studies topics like ancestry and heritage. What fascinates me about this story is that it is based on the author's life. She said that after her grandmother died and she became a mother herself, she wanted a way to hold on to all of the incredible history of the family. The term "show way" is a quilt that once served as a secret map for freedom-seeking slaves. All of the women in the family story were quilters, artists, and advocates of change. Not only is the story historical and informative about this period in history, but it is deeply personal to the author. It tells the story of the strong women that came before Woodson and the traditions that have been passed down through the generations. Although this book was a more serious read than Each Kindness, it still sends a powerful message. This story is a great way to remember the past but also celebrate possibilities for the future.  

One of my favorite things about Woodson's writing is how she writes in verse and utilizes repetition. This line was read over and over again and was powerful to read: "Loved that baby up so. Yes, they loved that baby up." Woodson also uses metaphors in a lot of her books and that is definitely the case here with the "show ways" or quilts. Each quilt represents the belief that there is a road to a better place and the stories behind it live on with each generation it gets passed through. I would love to use this book in my classroom and have students bring in their own family artifacts or an object that has shaped their lives. 

If you get the chance to snatch up either of these titles, I would highly recommend Woodson's work. Strong writing. Powerful message. 

My Childhood and Reading

My earliest memories with my family were all around books. Every night before bed was a story. Every morning during breakfast I’d bring a book to the table. Every car ride I’d bring a book along…until I realized how car sick I would get! Books were a staple in my house growing up and visits to the library were frequent. I still have many of my favorites and they are now in my daughter’s room or in my classroom for students to read. Goodnight Moon and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? were titles I read over and over again. I also loved nursery rhymes and classic fables as a young child. I also loved looking at the illustrations in any Eric Carle book.

I grew up as an early reader and enjoyed books. I feel like my love for reading started early on because of my experiences with my family. When I got to middle and high school though, this all seemed to change for me. I was given a list each year of classic novels to read, read them, took a test, and repeat. Although I love knowing that I've read so many famous classics and can check them off my "list", I don't feel like that enhanced my reading life. Now as an adult, I find I need to schedule time to read for pleasure.

My favorite thing about being a parent is being able to share all of these favorite stories and reading rituals with my daughter. She already loves reading a book after her bath and knows that it is a part of her routine. I can’t wait to share all of my favorite authors with her and be able to pass along everything I will learn in this course.

Classroom Libraries

When I had my first classroom, I was so excited to start gathering books and setting up my classroom library. Although it was small, it was my student's favorite place to go. These were all books organized by genre and subject. My kindergarteners and first graders were allowed to check out books freely and had access to the library for free read time. At the beginning of my teaching career, I would take any donated book I could get my hands and my kids didn't care. They loved seeing our library grow throughout the year. I also had a reading bathtub (an old donated vintage tub) filled with pillows and stuffed animals that students could read their books in. This was a HUGE hit!

Fast forward to my previous school year...I was the teacher who ran out of bookshelf space to hold all of my books! My library has grown (thanks to the help of Scholastic and parent donations) and has its own leveled inventory database. My second grade students were very involved in the organization of their classroom library because their reading time followed the readers' workshop curriculum. In a workshop approach, the library is a much more integral part of the classroom since students are checking out 5-8 books each week in their book bags. It's important that books are leveled appropriately and quality stories. In my previous classroom, I had plenty of pillows and bean bags for students to get comfy with. I created a reading nook in my room with a comfy rug and pillows that made for an inviting environment.  

A classroom library should have a good balance of fiction and nonfiction texts. I think it's a good idea to have books leveled, but also have books organized by subject. If I know a student loves sports, I know quickly where to send them. I also recommend having a basket of mentor texts and tradebooks that students can reference after teacher's have read them aloud. Anytime I update my "Mrs. Samet's favorites" basket, the kids come running. I also include a class "librarian" as one of my jobs. This makes the students responsible for their books and makes sure that all books are accounted for. The students check out their books through an online iPad app and they think this is so fun. The last thing I do in my room that gets students excited about reading is my "books I recommend" basket. After a student reads a book that they love and want to share with others, they write a recommendation and put it inside the book. Then, those books all go on display for others to see and check out themselves. This is a great way to get students excited about the books they read.

Overall, if you involve students in the library and create an organized, inviting space, it will be used well. If you just put books on shelves, it may not be user-friendly and students won't take them as easily. Books should be accessible and include a wide-variety of subjects. Since I taught every subject, I had different baskets of math books, social studies books, and science books. If we want our students to love reading, we need to create classroom libraries that bring them to the books. After all, what good is having books in your classroom if no one reads them?!