Trevor

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.” Barbara W. Tuchman quotes.

Picture Books #1 Curious George at the Zoo is a great book for kids because of the illustrations. If you are familiar with Curious George books, George is a little monkey that escaped from the zoo a long time ago and has always been very curious. Often times, this curiosity gets George into some kinds of trouble. This book has many great illustrations and on the animals, there is some texture for the children to feel. It is a touch and feel book. #2 It was four days until Arthur’s birthday and he had to get his invitations out at school. While he handed them out, he found out a good friend of his also had a birthday party and couldn’t reschedule either of them. Muffy wanted all the girls to come to hers and Arthur wanted all the boys to come to his. Both knew it wouldn’t be the same without the other friends though. Arthur decided to make a surprise party for Muffy and everyone could make it to both parties. Arthur saves the day. #3 Clifford is a BIG RED DOG, much larger than everyone around. Emily Elizabeth takes care of Clifford. Throughout the book is a walk through of different parts of Emily’s life with Clifford in it. When Emily is inside, Clifford is looking through the window. In this book, there are words on every object on every page. This helps for the children reading to look at the picture and correlate it with the word. The book is filled with many site words for children to enlarge their vocabulary. #4 Rainy days are always a fun thing. Slipping those rain boots on and plopping into a big puddle letting it splash everywhere. This book is a simple book of spunky rhymes for young children to be read to. The illustrations help grab the listener’s attention as the descriptive words jump out from the book. The book makes you want to run out in the rain and play. #5 Big Brown Bear decides to do some work on the tree house. It needs a coat of paint so here bear comes. As he’s painting, he falls and for some reason, Big Brown Bear isn’t so brown after all. His big coat of brown fur turned blue. Bear had spilled blue paint all over. The illustrations in this book are funny and great for kids. This book is a part of Green Light Readers helping kids reading on their own. It gives tips to parents in helping their children become great readers. # 6 =** Title: ** Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School ** Author ** : Herman Parish = Amelia can’t wait for the first day of school. She has so many memories from school. Amelia darts off the bus and into school. This series is a great ways in teaching idioms. Amelia never seems to get them until it’s too late. Amelia Bedelia has one job in her books, to have fun which makes the reader laugh all the time. #7 Trudy Harris demonstrates many different ways to count to 100. This can be a real eye open for parents and teachers trying to teach there children math skills while reading a book. It is a great ways to help children learn while they are reading. Helps them forget they are learning. This would be great for a teacher to read on the 100th day of school. #8 It's Clifford's birthday, and Emily Elizabeth is putting on a big party. There is a piñata to break and even a big present. Wow….surprise. The family jumps out of the present. While Clifford loves all the presents that friends and family bring, the best is just spending time with them. Clifford had fun playing at his party. #9 This is a great book for readers to expand their horizons. The pictures in the book go great with the highlighted vocabulary words. This would go well with a unit on continents or something about the world. I could also be a lesson on animals that are in the book. #10 At the start of every day, George is very curious. This day was when George got a new bike. He went from doing tricks on it to joining the circus. He also delivered newspaper and made sailboats out of some of the news papers. Little did George know this is where he would end. All this happened because George was curious. #11 “When I grow up, I’m going to turn into something else.” As typical as it is, most animals always stay the same. A caterpillar builds it self a cocoon to turn into a butterfly. The polliwog was so concerned about watching the caterpillar change that it didn’t recognize its own changes. The polliwog had changed into a frog, a handsome frog that is. This book helps kids realize the changes that these two animals go through. #12 This is a story about a farm where cows can type. The cows start harassing the farmer by demanding heat blankets. The farmer denies the requests however the cows won’t take no for an answer. They lock up the barn until they get their way. Over time, the farmer reaches an agreement with the farm on what to do. This book has beautiful water color illustrations that are fun for the kids to see. #13 Dot the Dalmatian that lives at a firehouse accompanies the firefighters when they rush to a burning house. Dot helps the firefighters in whatever task is needed. This time, there was an old man that needed to be saved and dot helped grab his slippers from the bedside. Dot heard a cat and saved it too. This is a great book for children that like dogs. It is also good because at the end Dot gives fire safety tips to the kids. #14 This is a great book for parents to read to their children. The mother always sings to her baby, "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be." As the child grows up, the mother continues to sing this. When the child grows up to be a man and the mother gets sick, they roles reverse and the son holds the mother singing, "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My mother you'll be." This is a cute book where parents can use it to show their love to their kids. #15 What would life be like as an inch worm? The worm is proud of what it can do. It measure’s things inch by inch, using its worm body. It was able to measure a robin’s tail, a flamingo’s neck, a toucan’s beak. At the end, at a nightingale threatens to eat him if he cannot measure his song. Clever enough, the worm inched its way away. #16 From the same barnyard as Click, Clack, Moo is the animals in Giggle, Giggle, Quack. This time, farmer Brown decides to take a vacation and his brother watches the animals. Duck creatively keeps writing notes every day for the animals to get pampered in some way. Eventually when farmer Brown calls one night, he figures out that duck had been writing a different listen than what he wrote for his brother. #17 This book is a young version of the legendary Johnny Appleseed. It tells the story of Jonny’s life when he travels around. This version of Johnny Appleseed shows Johnny as a loving warm man. It is a book full of rhyming for children to learn. “He said his apples sharp and sweet, would make the country strong.” It is also a great book with a Christian aspect where Johnny was a religious man and knew the planting of seeds was God’s plan. #18
 * Title: **** Curious George at the Zoo ** **Author**: H.A. Rey
 * Title: **** Arthur’s Birthday ** **Author**: Marc Brown
 * Title **** : Clifford the Big Red Dog Word Book ** Author : Norman Bridwell
 * Title: **** Rain Drop Plop! ** **Author**: Wendy Cheyette Lawison, Pam Paparone
 * Title: **** Big Brown Bear ** **Author**: David McPhail
 * Title: **** 100 Days of School ** **Author**: Trudy Harris
 * Title: **** Clifford’s Birthday Party ** Author : Norman Bridwell
 * Title: **** Antarctica **** Author ** : Allan Fowler
 * Title: **** Curious George Rides a Bike ** **Author**: H.A. Rey
 * Title: **** The Caterpillar and the Polliwog ** **Author**: Jack Kent
 * Title: **** Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type ** **Author**: Doreen Cronin
 * Title: **** Dot the Fire Dog ** **Author**: Lisa Desimini
 * Title: **** Love You Forever ** **Author**: Robert Munsch
 * Title: **** Inch by Inch **
 * Author ** : Leo Lionni
 * Title: **** Giggle Giggle Quack **
 * Author ** : Doreen Cronin
 * Title: **** Johnny Appleseed ** **Author**: Reeve Lindergh
 * Title: **** You Are Special ** **Author**: Max Lacado

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This is a cute little book about kids being special. It has a Christian theme to the book but if one were not a believer, they might miss that part. This makes it great for all kids//.// // Puchinello is a wooden Wemmick in the story. According to himself, he is not like the other Wemmicks. He doesn’t have any unusual talents that make him “special”. Because of this, he would often collect many dots from other Wemmicks. One day, he meets Eli, the maker, and Eli told him to believe in his creator. If he did this, the dots would fall off. // ====== #19  When birds lay eggs, they leave them in the nest when going to look for food. This time, baby bird is hatched while his mother is away. It falls from its nest and is determined to find his mother. In the process of doing so, baby bird asks everyone he meets. Eventually after asking a dog, a cow, and a plane, "Are you my mother?” he finds his mother. #20  In order for a miller to feel more important, he tried talking to the king saying his daughter could spin straw into gold. The miller’s intentions were strictly to get his daughter married into money. The king orders the daughter start immediately so she did. If she could spin a whole room of straw to gold by morning, her life would be spared. If not, she would be killed. As the story proceeds, Rumpelstiltskin comes and takes over for collateral. In the end, there is no more collateral but the daughter’s first baby. The king marries the daughter and they conceive a child but will not give it away. The only way the daughter can keep is if she can guess Rumpelstiltskin’s name. She figures out the name and is able to keep her daughter.  #21  A camel went on a morning walk down a dirt path. Tiger saw the camel and determined if he went past a certain tree, he was going to pounce on him. When monkey saw the tiger, he decided to drop the coconut on the tiger’s head before he pounced on the camel. Squirrel also saw what was going on and decided the camel should get jumped on so he decided to bite the monkey’s tail so he would not drop the coconut so the tiger could get the camel. Fortunately, the bird liked the camel. He decided to pounce on the squirrel so he wouldn’t bite the monkey to let the coconut drop on tiger so he would not jump on tiger. Just as the camel reached the tree, he decided that was enough walk so he turned around. The chain of events were pointless and nothing happened.
 * Title: **** Are You My Mother **** Author ** : P.D. Eastman
 * Title: **** Rumpelstiltskin ** **Author**: Paul O. Zelinsky
 * Title: **** The Camel Who Took a Walk ** **Author**: Jack Tworkov

Intermediate Books #1 On his way to visit his father in Canada, the pilot of plane Brian is riding in dies of a sudden heart attack. Forced to fly the plane based on a short lesson the pilot gave him, Brian must try to fly the plane. Unsuccessful, the plane crashes into a lake somewhere in the Canadian wilderness. What will Brian do? With his hand forced, Brian must learn how to survive on his own, and fast. It’s Brian against nature. What will become of him? Will he beat the odds and survive, or will the test prove to be too much to overcome? Find out by reading Gary Paulsen’s timeless classic, //Hatchet//. #2 Joan Blos’ //A Gathering of Days// gives a very personal look at what Pioneer life must have been like. Life was simple. It had its joys, but was also filled with trials and hardships at the same time. The story begins with Catherine writing in her journal, a gift from her father. In it, she describes her life, the lives of her friends and family, and others in her small community. Through her entries we get a gentle and intimate portrayal of tragedy and tranquility, justice and responsibility, and life and death as she develops the ability to trust. #3 We have all been there – or most of us anyway. You are the underappreciated one, and it seems as if your little brother gets all of the attention. Life simply is not fair, and you are the victim. //Everyone// loves the adorable toddler. If they only knew what a little terror he really is. Judy Blume’s //Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,// allows you to relive those days when you were the mature ten year old sibling of a two year old through the eyes of Peter as he learns to live with – maybe even love – his little brother Fudge #4 Perhaps one of the most beloved children’s novels of all time is //The Mouse and the Motorcycle// by Beverly Cleary. Children get to experience first hand the life of fun-loving, adventurous Ralph. Even the simplest of things can be a great adventure for a mouse on a boy’s toy motorcycle. What will Ralph do next? Children will not be able to keep from turning the page to find out what happens next. #5 What if the “Fountain of Youth” were real? What if it were actually possible to capture youth in a bottle? Would you drink it, and if you did, what would happen? Natalie Babbitt’s //Tuck Everlasting// takes a unique look at this surface Utopia and exposes it as something far less glamorous. When Winnie discovers a boy drinking from a spring in the woods, she is kidnapped and taken back to their home. She soon discovers that their intentions are pure, and that they only desire to do what is best for her and the rest of humanity. All of this is changed when a man discovers their secret and plans to buy the wood and sell the water; making it available to only the smartest and richest members of society. What will the Tucks do to stop him? #6 What if everything was perfect: no pain, war, fear, prejudice, and hatred? What if choices were made for you; all you have to do is exist. Life would be easy, but would it be life? Jonas discovers that this perfect society he has been living in isn’t so perfect after all. It’s bland, boring, numb, and robotic. People are missing out on the true joys of life in exchange for peacefulness. Jonas wishes to show the people in his life the richness they have been missing. It’s not so easy, though. When Jonas discovers that Gabriel, a baby that his family is taking care of, is going to be “released” (killed), Jonas must act, but what can he do? Find out in //The Giver// by Lois Lowry.
 * Title: ** Hatchet **Author**: Gary Paulsen
 * Title: ** A Gathering of Days **Author**: Joan Blos
 * Title: ** Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing **Author**:Judy Blume
 * Title: ** The Mouse and the Motorcycle **Author**:Beverly Cleary
 * Title: ** Tuck Everlasting **Author**:Natalie Babbitt
 * Title: ** The Giver **Author**:Lois Lowry

Young Adult Books

#1 Growing up listening to her grandma tell an unusual and somewhat frightening version of Sleeping Beauty, twenty-three year old journalist Rebecca Berlin embarks on a quest to uncover the mysteries of her grandmother’s past. With the story as one of the only clues that she has, Rebecca travels to Poland to investigate which parts of the story are fact and fiction. In //Briar Rose//, Jane Yolen masterfully marries the popular fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty and one of the most outrageous acts of injustice in history: the Holocaust. In the story, Gemma is both the heroine and victim of the story. Read the story to find out the mysteries hidden deep in Gemma’s past. #2 Gregor the Overlander is written by Suzanne Collins. This book is for grades 4-8. It was the beginning of summer when Gregor usually went off to camp. This year was different though. His dad had left a couple years before so this summer his mom had to work and his grandma was not healthy enough to watch his 2-yr old sister. This made an 11-yr old boy much more responsible. He was the only “man” of the house so he stayed home to watch his little sister Boots. His 7-yr old sister still went off to camp and Gregor was angry. He wanted to go to camp too but he didn’t want to disappoint his mom. It had been a little over two years ago that his dad left the family. Nobody ever knew where he had gone. The day Lizzie went to camp was when everything happened. Gregor took Boots down into the laundry room and started wash the clothes. Boots started getting in the dryer when all of a sudden, she was in a little tube. Gregor was confused so he went to check it out to get her out. Boots started falling and Gregor had no choice but to jump in after her. This passage led them to the underland. They were greeted by huge cockroaches. These cockroaches led them into an arena where there were human. These humans were not from the overland though. They were living in the underland. The strangest thing about the arena was that there were many bats. The bats were gigantic as well. The girl named Luxa came up to Gregor and Boots and acted tough. Luxa is the Queen of the Underlanders. While there, Gregor spends much time protecting Boots for he isn’t really sure what could happen. After many questions, Gregor finds a way out of the palace and into the dark underland. Many things happen at this point. Suzanne Collins keeps the readers entertained yet on edge for the next thing to happen. This is a great fantasy book for someone with a great imagination. #3 What happens when a band of boys is marooned on a deserted island and left to fend for themselves? Will they abide by the codes of moral, ethical, and judicial conduct that they have learned back home, or will chaos break out with the lack of authority? Watch as “boys being boys” turns into a deadly game of Russian Roulette. William Golding’s //Lord of the Flies// is a provoking tale of the human state void of the rule of government or authority. It is filled with adventure, suspense, and conflict as Ralph struggles against nature, the other boys, and sometimes himself in his attempt to fight for what he knows is right. Will Ralph be able to maintain order, or will the chaos claim him along with the rest?
 * Title: ** Briar Rose **Author**: Jane Yolen
 * Title: **** Gregor the Overlandor ** **Author**: Suzanne Collins
 * Title: **** Lord of the Flies ** **Author**: William Golding