The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph

 The Color of My Words tells a tragic yet inspiring story of girl from the Dominican Republic, Ana Rosa, and her dream of becoming a writer.  This dream comes true when she writes a number of articles for the newspaper regarding the "rebellion", of her family and neighbors, against the government, that is unlawfully selling the land where Ana Rosa's neighborhood resides.  The "rebellion" ends in tragedy and Ana Rosa vows never to write again.  That is, until she receives a typewriter from her family and friends that make her promise she will write! The Color of My Words opened my eyes to the many luxuries in my life: freedom of speech, ability to own land, and the countless opportunities I have been given to further my education and achieve my dreams!
The Color of My Words will give students an opportunity to relate to a student from a country and culture different from their own.  My students will be able to relate to the struggles Ana Rosa encounters in the book and will provide an outlet for promoting diversity and acceptance. 

Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings

Red Kayak is a heart wrenching story that I absolutely could not put down! I felt a variety of emotions including sadness, compassion, anger, anxiety and at several points I felt my eyes welling up with tears.  The book presents genuine life struggles that everyone can relate to in one way or another.  The heavy material presented in Red Kayak includes lies, deception, death, serious illness, betrayal, financial strife, as well as dealing with the ideas of right and wrong. 
The reader follows Brady through his explanation of events that occurred in the recent past.  Brady blames himself for the loss of three year old, Ben, and upon uncovering the fact that his friends were to blame struggles with keeping his friends secret and doing what he knows deep down is the right thing to do. 
Red Kayak is a must read for upper elementary and junior high students, due to the heavy issues presented in the novel.  Teachers should be prepared to handle questions students may have or emotions that may surface when students relate their own experiences to events in the novel.  This book could be used to elicit emotional responses from students, create a reading circle, or as a pretext to students journaling about their own struggles. 

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom written and illustrated by Shane Evans

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom is an inspiring book that follows a family along the Underground Railroad through the use of simple, yet powerful, crayon-like drawings.  The book uses short phrases to convey the emotions of the family at each stage of their journey.  This book could be used in a classroom as a trade book that is available during a unit on slavery, to provide an example of how illustrations can tell the story, as well as to show how even simple illustrations can be entrancing.

Knuffle Bunny Free An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems

Knuffle Bunny Free An Unexpected Diversion is the final book in the Knuffle Bunny Series by Mo Willems.  This book boasts incredible illustrations with black and white photographed backgrounds and vibrant hand-drawn characters in the foreground!  The illustrations draw the reader into the story as we follow Trixie through her journey of learning to cope with her missing Knuffle Bunny and the selflessness she shows when giving up her Knuffle Bunny to a young child.  This book promotes sharing and selflessness but not at the cost of a well-written story and illustrations. Honestly, I would use the book to show my students an out of the box way of illustrating a book! This book could also be used to help a student cope with the loss of a safety item or to promote selflessness. 

The Frank Asch Collection

Bear's Bargain written and illustrated by Frank Asch.

Bear's Bargain written and illustrated by Frank Asch is a book that promotes perseverance, friendship, and thinking outside of the box.  I enjoyed the book, but I felt the didactic points of the story overpowered the story that could have been.  Illustrations by Frank Asch are simple and are not exactly engaging.  The illustrations do however, provide subtle humor and insight into the story.  As a teacher, I would use this book in the younger grades as an easy-to-read book that younger students could read on their own, or to illustrate an example of the necessary components of a story.

Happy Birthday, Moon written and illustrated by Frank Asch.

Happy Birthday, Moon was recommended to me by a Kindergarten teacher.  I must say, I did not find the book as fascinating as she did.  The book tells a story about Bear and his conversation with the moon, which is really his echo.  Frank Asch uses subtle humor that is shown in his simple illustrations.  As a teacher, this book could be used to preface the question, "What causes an echo?"  or the discussion of the phases of the moon. 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears illustrated by Jan Brett

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is beautifully illustrated by Jan Brett.  The borders of each page are truly captivating! The borders tell the story of what the characters that are currently not being discussed are doing.  Jan Brett uses precise detail in every illustration that makes the reader want to study each page.  Teachers can use this book to show students that illustrations can present other aspects of the story, or even tell a different story! 

The Lane Smith Collection

Pinocchio the Boy (or Incognito in Collodi) written and illustrated by Lane Smith

Pinocchio the Boy (or Incognito in Collodi) written and illustrated by Lane Smith presents the traditional Pinocchio story with a modern twist.  Lane Smith places emphasis on the simple, yet warm illustrations that consume the page rather than the text, that are written more as captions.  The somber mood throughout the book was countered by the subtle humor.  Teachers could use Pinocchio the Boy as a way to introduce the idea of illustrations telling the story, as well as telling a traditional story in a new way.  This book could also be used as a creative writing activity, where students write an alternate ending to the story. Overall, Pinocchio the Boy was an entertaining book that allowed the reader to accompany Pinocchio on his journey to discover himself through humor and expressive illustrations!

Madam President written and illustrated by Lane Smith

Madam President, written and illustrated by Lane Smith, follows Katy, a young girl obsessed with being President, through a day in her life as she hands out American flags, appoints cabinet members, and vetoes the school lunch!  Smith tells Katy's story through witty text and hilarious illustrations that allow readers to discover new details every time they read Madam President. 

 

Madam President could be used in early elementary grades to introduce the role of the President through the use of humor.  Students will be able to relate well to Katy and her aspirations of becoming President due to the humor in the illustrations!  Even though some aspects of the book are based on fact, Smith depicts the Presidential cabinet as including: Secretary of Dance, Secretary of Naps, and Secretary of Pizza.  Smith delights readers again with the entertaining story of Madam President!

 

 

 It's a Book! written and illustrated by Lane Smith
It's a Book! presents the issue of society's push to incorporate the use of technology in every day life while at the cost of losing touch with reading an actual book.  The two characters, a monkey and a donkey, banter back and forth regarding the capabilities of a book.  The donkey pesters the monkey by asking, "Can it text? Tweet? Wi-Fi?" The donkey becomes immersed in the book and assures the monkey he will "charge it up when I'm done!"  The monkey is clearly annoyed by the donkey's lack of understanding as he calmly states, "It's a book, Jackass!"  Smith's obvious use of crude humor makes this book hilarious yet controversial when being read in a school setting.  Teachers should allow the book to be present in the classroom but be prepared for any questions or misuse of the term "jackass".  If the book is read aloud to a class, I would suggest omitting the term in grades younger than second.  However, no matter what grade level reads It's a Book! the term "jackass" needs to be discussed as both a name for a donkey as well as a demeaning term that should not be used. 

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! written by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! presents a new viewpoint to the traditional Three Little Pigs story.  This book is an account, told by the Wolf, of how the "Big Bad Wolf" came to be!  As many of the other books illustrated by Lane Smith, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs boasts simple illustrations that show important details.  Teachers could use this book to present the concept of telling stories from various viewpoints, and follow with a writing activity.  Teachers should also take caution when using the repeated phrase, "dead as a doornail".  Many young students may not understand the idea of death and teachers should be ready for questions.  

 Science Verse written by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith
Science Verse is a compilation of short poems written to the tune of common children's rhymes that explain various science topics.  Reading Science Verse definitely made me laugh, especially when I found myself repeating, "Eenie, meanie, mynie, mo. Catch a virus, watch it grow. Once it's got you, it won't go. Eenie, meanie, my--oh no!"  By mimicking common children's rhymes students will be able to remember the silly words easily.  This book would be appropriate for students that enjoy memorizing facts or for teachers to pick out a rhyme that corresponds to the current topic being taught in science.  Students would be able to use the rhyme as introduction to a new topic in science!