LC and JP Public Library Blog

Bibliography: Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Llama Who Had No Pajama . Orlando, Florida: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006. ISBN 978-0152055714 Summary: This book is a collection of 100 poems written by Mary Ann Hoberman. She picked her favorite poems from the last 40 years to create this anthology. Critical Analysis: This collection of Hoberman's poems reminds me a little of Where the Sidewalk Ends . The poems are fun, silly, rhyming about anything and everything. You will find poems here about birthdays, slippers, siblings, fishing, seasons, opposites, food, letters of the alphabet, bugs and animals. Each poem has its own rhythm and rhyming scheme.The rhythm may be like a tongue twister, singing a song, chanting or calm and relaxed.Rhyming does not seem forced, but flows off the page with ease. One poem may have an AABB scheme, the next will be ABAB, then AABC, and so on. A perfect and simple rhyme is found in Both My Slippers..." Both my slippers/ Are bright red./ At ni...

Bibliography: Lewis, J. Patrick. My Home on the Ice. New York: Scholastic Library Publishing, 2017. ISBN 978-0503122872 Summary: This book gives facts about animals that live in the arctic tundra using poems and photographs. Critical Analysis: The beginning of the book has a table of contents to help readers find what they are looking for. The end of the book also contains a fact file with facts about each animal, freezing facts with facts about the region, a glossary of four words that students may not know and an about the author section. What more could a teacher ask for? The glossary words can be introduced as vocabulary at the beginning of the lesson. There are plenty of academic words that can be taught along with this book. This ABCB rhyme scheme presents different animals that live in the arctic tundra. Real facts are given about each animal in a poem. The second and fourth line in each poem have words that rhyme. The rhyming words are cold/bold; part/chart/smart;...

Bibliography: McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. Under the Mesquite.New York: Lee & Low Books, 2011. ISBN 978-1600604294 Plot Summary: This is a story about a young family of ten that relocated from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico to Eagle Pass, Texas. The oldest child is the author of this story. She along with the rest of the family adored Mami. Lupita did all she could to help the family as Papi did all he could to take care of Mami. Lupita escapes from her pain and sorrow by acting and writing. Her favorite spot to write is under the mesquite tree. Critical Analysis:  Lupita wrote this autobiography in free verse. There is a subtle rhythm, but not a pattern in the lines. Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Lupita) is the oldest sibling of eight children. She had an immensely close relationship with her Mami. She described her life in great detail with a perfect, selfless, and loving mother. The imagery and details in her words make you feel like you were there with her, feelin...

The Three Little Pigs: A Nosy Crow Fairy Tale Bibliography: Bryan, Ed. The Three Little Pigs: A Nosy Crow Fairy Tale. Nosy Crow, 2016. ISBN 978-0763686550 Plot Summary: The three little pigs leave home to find their way. The Big Bad Wolf plans to blow their houses down and eat the three little pigs. The pigs run to the third brother's carefully built brick house to keep from being eaten by the wolf. Critical Analysis: Eye catching digitally created illustrations make you want to read more books like it. The pictures are clear, crisp, detailed and bold. The vibrant colors help make every picture better than the next. I love how the houses are numbered to help young readers with sequence of events. The wolf is so confident that he is going to eat the pigs, he is in his chef hat and food truck to prepare his meal. The food truck is such a modern idea, you can tell it is a recent version of the fairy tale. This story is so modern, it includes a female big rather than  a...

Nino Wrestles the World Bibliography: Morales, Yuyi. Nino Wrestles the World. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1596436046 Plot Summary: This is a story about a little boy that wrestles some of the toughest opponets known in Mexican folklore. He uses all the best moves to defeat his opponents. He is defeated by the toughest opponents of all, his sisters. Critical Analysis: This multicultural story explicitly depicts a Mexican wrestling theme. Mexican wrestlers are known as luchadores. This story will grasp the attention of any child, but especially that of children from Mexican descent. The beginning of the book displays title cards of the scary opponents the little boy wrestles and defeats. The title cards show the picture of the opponent, name pronunciation, gives some history, and their special move. These characters are actually characters from Mexican folklore. This will help students of this culture relate even more to Nino. The  vibrant colors a...

Bibliography:  Denton, Shannon E. The Lion and the Mouse. Minnesota: Magic Wagon, 2010. ISBN   9780060588292 Dubisch, Mike. 2010. The Lion and the Mouse. retold by Shannon Eric Denton. Minnesota: Magic Wagon. ISBN   9780060588292 Plot Summary: An angry lion caught a silly mouse that was using the lion's leg as a slide. He released the mouse because he was amused by his begging. The mouse repayed the lion for his kindness by chewing him out of a hunter's net. Critical Analysis: The first thing you notice when you open the book are the illustrations. The illustrations are big, bold, and beautiful. They seem to be watercolor like illustrations. Mike Dubisch is a comic book cartoonist. You can see comic book like characteristics in these pictures. The use of shadowing makes the animals look life-like. The vibrant colors help to distinguish the integral setting from the backdrop setting. This helps the reader be aware of where they are and what is aro...